There’s been quite a big move within the Big Ten in just a week since our first power ranking dropped. Let’s take a look at where Penn State and the rest of the conference land in this week’s RLR Power rankings.

14. NEBRASKA (6-13, 0-8 Big Ten) – Net: 201 – KenPom: 162
Last week: 14
Next game: At No. 19 Ohio State (Jan. 22)

The Cornhuskers were uncompetitive against a Purdue side that seems to be getting their groove back, getting knocked down, 92-65. Nebraska gave Indiana a game, but the result was still the same in the 78-71 loss. How are two more matchups against the Top 25 teams going next week? !

13. MARYLAND (9-9, 1-6 Big Ten) – Net: 114 – KenPom: 96
Last week: 13
Next game: vs. No. 17 Illinois (January 21)

Congratulations on your first Big Ten win, Terps fans! Too bad for you that your team gave up the next two games. Safe to say interim head coach Danny Manning won’t get the full-time gig at the end of the season.

12. MINNESOTA (10-5, 1-5 Big Ten) – Net: 82 – KenPom: 90
Last week: 10
Next game: against Rutgers (January 22)

In its only game since last week’s Power Rankings, Minnesota fell to Michigan State to a Joey Hauser buzzer-beater. Positive COVID-19 results within the Gophers program saw their game with Penn State scheduled for Wednesday being postponed. It remains to be seen if their next game against Rutgers will be successful.

11. NORTHWEST (9-7, 2-5 Big Ten) – Net: 80 – KenPom: 58
Last week: 11
Next game: at No. 4 Purdue (January 23)

Just when it looked like Chris Collins was heading for another terrible Big Ten finish, his team pulled off the biggest shock of the conference season so far. The Wildcats entered East Lansing on Saturday without leading scorer Pete Nance and knocked out a Michigan State team that had won nine straight.

10. MICHIGAN (8-7, 2-3 Big Ten) – Net: 54 – KenPom: 30
Last week: 12
Next game: at Indiana (January 23)

The Wolverines came out of their COVID-19 break and nearly knocked down Illinois in Champaign. They then hammered Maryland on Tuesday night. I’m not ready to say Juwan Howard’s team is back yet. A road game with Indiana on Sunday should tell us a lot about the trajectory of this team.

9. RUTGERS (10-6, 4-2 Big Ten) – Net: 113 – KenPom: 93
Last week: 8
Next game: against Iowa (January 19)

When Ron Harper Jr. is good, Rutgers is good. When he’s off his game, Rutgers struggles. He had a career-high 31 points in Rutgers’ 70-59 win over Maryland on Saturday, knocking down six 3-pointers. This followed a road loss to Penn State where Harper Jr. never really found a rhythm and finished with just 7 points.

8. PENN STATE (8-7, 3-4 Big Ten) – Net: 85 – KenPom: 66
Last week: 7
Next game: at Iowa (January 22)

It’s probably a little unfair to lose a spot to the Nittany Lions after losing to Ohio State without Seth Lundy on Sunday. I think it’s pretty clear what he means for this team offensively as they really struggled to break down the Buckeyes defense in his absence. Tough break for Penn State to have its scheduled home game with Minnesota postponed. It’s a game the Nittany Lions would likely be favored to win and move back to .500 in the Big Ten.

7. INDIANA (13-4, 4-3 Big Ten) – Net: 33 – KenPom: 28
Last week: 6
Next game: vs. No. 4 Purdue (January 20)

Fourteen second-half turnovers doomed the Hoosiers in a loss to Iowa last Thursday. It would have given Indiana its first real road win of the season. Luckily, their next two games (No. 4 Purdue, Michigan) are at Assembly Hall and present a great opportunity to rack up more resume-building wins.

6. IOWA (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) – Net: 21 – KenPom: 19
Last week: 9
Next game: at Rutgers (January 19)

It was a very good week for the Hawkeyes. They overcame a halftime deficit to beat Indiana, then earned a road win over Minnesota. Iowa is our biggest lifter of the week, jumping three spots from No. 9.

5. OHIO STATE (12-4, 4-2 Big Ten) – Net: 22 – KenPom: 23
Last week: 5
Next game: against Nebraska (January 22)

Ohio State couldn’t complete the season sweep over Wisconsin, but accomplished the feat against a shorthanded Penn State. The Buckeyes also tore down an ill-fated IUPUI team in a game that was added after both teams lost non-conference games to COVID-19 breaks last month.

4. MICHIGAN STATE (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) – Net: 25 – KenPom: 24
Last week: 1
Next game: at No. 8 Wisconsin (January 21)

Weft. It was a very bad loss for Northwestern. Don’t take anything away from the Wildcats, but this is a game the Spartans should have had no problem winning. Especially when you consider Northwestern was missing its best player in Pete Nance. Things could get worse before they get better for Michigan State too, with road tilts against Wisconsin and Illinois on deck.

3. ILLINOIS (13-4, 6-1 Big Ten) – Net: 11 – KenPom: 12
Last week: 2
Next game: at Maryland (January 21)

The Fighting Illini narrowly fell to Purdue in what was the Big Ten’s best game of the season so far. Illinois clawed their way back to force overtime, then another through late buckets from Andre Curbelo and Alfonso Plummer, before the Boilermakers pulled out in the second OT. Foul issues limited Kofi Cockburn’s impact (Bo Borowski just whistled him for another questionable foul as you read this) and allowed Purdue to feast inside. Curbelo’s return is a game-changer for the Illini, as he gives them an extra dimension on offense to compliment Cockburn.

2. PURDUE (15-2, 4-2 Big Ten) – Net: 7 – KenPom: 4
Last week: 4
Next game: at Indiana (January 20)

I almost, almost shoved Purdue all the way to No. 1 as Purdue entered Champaign and beat Illinois in a thriller, giving us a glimpse of the Boilermakers team we’ve all expected to see at this point in time. Big Ten season. Senior guard Sasha Stefanovic was magnificent against the Illini, scoring 22 of 6 of 11 points, including 5 of 8 of three. He also took the clutch, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer to open the second overtime.

1. WISCONSIN (15-2, 6-1 Big Ten) – Net: 17 – KenPom: 25
Last week: 3
Next game: vs. Michigan State No. 14 (January 21)

Johnny Davis continues to play at a very high level and Wisconsin continues to win. It’s now seven straight for the Badgers after getting revenge on Ohio State and holding off a feisty Northwest team. Davis scored 27 goals and grabbed 8 rebounds in the 82-76 win over the Wildcats. Wisconsin edged Purdue for the top spot with a head-to-head win over the Boilermakers at Mackey Arena just a few weeks ago.