1. Michigan State - 1.0 (no change)

A dominating second half performance at Mackey Arena and a convincing home win over the Badgers keep MSU a unanimous number one.

2. (tie) Ohio State - 2.5 (no change)

Ohio State hasn't been looking like the world-beaters some of us thought they were. They are still pretty good, but they seem to be having a hard time scoring lately against good defenses.

2. (tie) Michigan - 2.5 (up two)

The Wolverines move up from fourth with their win over the Buckeyes. If Michigan State slips up and UM keeps winning, they have a shot at a piece of the conference championship.

4. Wisconsin - 4.0 (down one)

The Badgers haven't lost to a team that is presently below them in the standings since New Year's Eve.

5. Indiana - 5.0 (no change)

Indiana's lopsided loss at Iowa doesn't hurt them too much. IU had won three in a row previously, so fifth is where they stay.

6. Purdue - 6.3 (no change)

Purdue beat Illinois (which hasn't been too hard lately) and played one good half against Michigan State. The loss of Kelsey Barlow won't help things going forward.

7. Iowa - 7.0 (up three)

Iowa finally jumps Minnesota (a team they beat twice) after their big win on Sunday over Indiana. Let's not dwell too much on their midweek loss at Penn State.

8. Northwestern - 7.7 (down one)

Northwestern's split their games this week. The loss in Bloomington was not a surprise, but the home win over the Gophers helps out their tourney chances.

9. Minnesota - 9.0 (no change)

While not quite on the level of Illinois, the Gophers have been on a bit of a slide as well. The Gophers have lost five of their last seven.

10. Nebraska - 10.7 (up two)

The blowout win over the grease fire that used to be the University of Illinois Basketball Team was enough to move the Huskers up a couple of places.

11. Illinois - 11.0 (down four)

The Illini managed to stay out of last place for at least another week. Have they hit rock bottom yet?

12. Penn State - 11.3 (down one)

The Nittany Lions have won two out of three, but have yet to gain the respect of the Power Ranking Voters. That doesn't quite seem fair, but PSU still has the worst record in the conference.

After Brandon Paul scored 43 points on January 10 to beat Ohio State, Illinois was sitting at 4-1 in the conference. A lot of people thought that they would probably lose a few games and finish in the top half of the conference. Not too many people expected them to compete for the conference title, but it was a possibility. I can say for a fact that absolutely no one was predicting that Illinois would win only one of their next nine games (and that win was against a great Michigan State squad).

Illini Head Coach Bruce Weber was not widely beloved before the season started, and now it seems like a certainty that his days are numbered. After the Purdue loss, Weber spoke frankly about his players and what he thinks his mistakes have been the past few seasons. There has been a lot already written about this (check here and here to get up to speed), so I'm not going to rehash it here.

It was interesting to see how the players would respond to Weber's comments. Last night, facing a must-win game, Illinois lost to eleventh-place Nebraska by 23 points. It is now basically a foregone conclusion that Weber will be fired at the end of the season, unless something crazy happens.

So let's ask the question: what would it take for Bruce Weber to be back at Illinois next season?

The only answer I can come up with is a Big Ten Tournament Championship followed by a run to the Final Four. That would buy Weber at least another year. Anything less wouldn't be enough for a fanbase that was already on the fence about Weber before the season.

What are the odds of such a thing happening? Very slim, but crazy things have happened in the tournaments the past couple of years. UCONN went on a run last year that ended in a Big East Tournament and National Championship.

I'm not sure why I spent a whole paragraph discussing UCONN's run last year, because Illinois isn't capable of that this season (obviously). UCONN had Kemba Walker, who was an All-American who took over games in crunch time. UI has Brandon Paul, who's near-perfect performance against Ohio State looks like an aberration. During the conference season, UCONN lost nine games, but their worst stretch was losing four out of five. They never had anywhere near the swoon that Illinois is experiencing.

The following is obvious and sad to me as somewhat of a Bruce Weber fan: barring a miracle Illinois will not make the tournament and Bruce Weber will not be their coach next season.

Purdue played perhaps its best game of the season in a 67-62 win at Illinois Wednesday. The first 20 minutes were undoubtedly the best half the Boilermakers have put together since E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson wore Old Gold and Black.

That game was preceded by a nice win over Northwestern in Evanston and a near-upset of Ohio State in Columbus. Things were looking up.

But after Kelsey Barlow was dismissed from the program Friday, any momentum that had been built has been destroyed.

The loss of the junior guard is a huge blow to the Boilers. Barlow is easily the best perimeter defender on the team and has become an increasingly potent offensive threat.

And it all comes at just the right time to potentially destroy an NCAA tournament bid, or at least drop Purdue a few seeds.

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With a 20-5 record and six games remaining, the Michigan State Spartans are closing in on the prize of winning the Big Ten Championship. There was some doubt that the Spartans would contend with Ohio State especially after the rocky start Sparty had this season. No coach would ever dare to have North Carolina and Duke to begin the season, besides Tom Izzo. The fearless leader that Izzo is took the lumps with the two consecutive losses and identified the issues with his team.

The holes that Izzo found were inside presence, consistent perimeter shooting, and rebounding integrity. All of which were aided with potential Big Ten Player of the Year Draymond Green. The same lumps that the Spartans had early in the season also ailed the leader of the team in Green. He lost consistency on his shot and was weak when driving to the basket.

Now with 25 games in the books for Michigan State, the team ranks in the top-ten nationally in rebounds per game. Not only do the Spartans average 40 rebounds a game, they allow the fewest as a defensive unit. While the bigs of Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix haven't been the strongest of rebounds, Green has picked up the slack. He is the top rebounder in the conference by averaging over 10 rebounds per game; Green ranks 13th in the nation in rebounds per game including being 5th in defensive rebounding.

Here are some more team stats:

-1st in assists in the Big Ten

-2nd in blocks in the Big Ten behind Minnesota, 2nd in steals

-Michigan State ranks 4th in offensive production and 3rd in defense

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Michigan State spent Saturday beating Ohio State in Columbus, the first time anyone had done that since Feb. 17, 2010. On Monday, they climbed atop the Power Rankings. Which accomplishment is more impressive? It's hard to say, so we'll call it a tie.

1. Michigan State - 1.0 (up one)

Draymond Green is back and I would bet dollars to donuts that the Spartans will not lose another game this year unless their opponents score at least 50 points.

2. Ohio State - 2.0 (down one)

A terrible shooting game drops OSU to number two, but the Buckeyes will bounce back.

3. Wisconsin - 3.2 (no change)

The Badgers have only lost one out of their last eight, and that was to Ohio State.

4. Michigan - 4.0 (no change)

Michigan hasn't been quite as hot as Wisconsin lately, but they are a solid team that still has a shot at the conference title.

5. Indiana - 4.8 (no change)

The Hoosiers took care of a struggling Illini squad in their only game this week.

6. Purdue - 6.0 (up two)

A unanimous number six for the Boilermakers, who looked good in a loss at OSU and beat Northwestern at home.

7. (tie) Northwestern - 8.2 (up 2)

Northwestern has looked better as of late, but the logjam at 5-7 in the conference standings is comprised of some very inconsistent teams.

7. (tie) Illinois - 8.2 (down 1)

Illinois has been in a bit of a freefall recently, but they still have a chance to win some games and turn their season around.

9. Minnesota - 8.3 (down 2)

Minnesota finishes just behind the Illinois teams after they ran out of gas against Wisconsin in overtime.

10. Iowa - 9.3 (down 1)

The lopsided loss at Northwestern knocks Iowa down a spot; they remain far ahead of the cellar-dwellers.

11. Penn State - 11.2 (up one)

Penn State beat Nebraska on Saturday, so they stay out of last place.

12. Nebraska - 11.8 (down one)

See above.

Oh, those poor Minnesota Gophers. Another tough loss that could end up being the difference between an NCAA Tournament bid and an invitation to the lame as heck NIT. Wisconsin appeared to be running away with the game midway through the second half, but then the Badgers hit a scoring drought that lasted for the last 7-plus minutes of regulation.

Yes, that usually means the game went into overtime. That was certainly the case on Thursday night. Minnesota guard Austin Hollins tied the score at 51-51 with a pair of free throws with 1:02 remaining in the second half. Wisconsin's Jared Berggren missed a corner trey on the ensuing possession to set up Minnesota's try for the win.

Andre Hollins tried to get by Jordan Taylor with a crossover dribble, but Taylor stayed in front of his man and denied his shot attempt.

"I was trying to stay solid, stay in front of him," said Taylor, who accomplished his goal and made Hollins take a tough shot. "I was fortunate enough to get a piece of the shot."

The other Hollins, Minnesota's Austin, was able to track down the rebound for another crack at the victory, but his fade away shot was off target and the game went to overtime. That's when everything changed for Wisconsin.

Despite the raucous atmospher inside The Barn, Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Bo Ryan's Badgers remained calm.

Yet the mood inside the UW huddle just before overtime was decidedly upbeat.

"We said everybody's got to be aggressive," junior forward Mike Bruesewitz explained. "Everybody's got to make hard cuts. We've got to move better. We can't just look at Jordan and say take over this game for us. Everybody's got to make sure they do their own part."

Wisconsin showed a much more aggressive gameplan in the extra period. Instead of just living on the perimeter, the Badgers dashed toward the hoop and drew fouls. Of their 17 overtime points, 15 came from the free throw line. Wisconsin went on to win 68-61.

Hit the jump for a statistical summary.

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There are three games tonight on the Big Ten schedule. I'm from the east coast and as a result don't totally understand these midwestern battles, so I'll let Hail to the Orange set the tone.

Ask which team I want to beat most every year, and it is Indiana without even the slightest moment's hesitation.

The midwest is a wasteland in February. Drive across the state of Illinois, down 74, through Champaign, Danville, and cross the Indiana border into Covington and on down one of the state highways to Bloomington, and you probably wont see one growing thing, or even appreciable sign of civilization all that often. It's cold and wet and miserable in this part of the country this time of year. Good passive aggressive midwesterners like we are, we internalize our hatred for our lives and our surroundings, allowing it to spill out in a socially acceptable manner, screaming til you're purple at college basketball players. There is a reason basketball is so popular in the midwest, and it is to distract us from the fact that when we look out of the window it looks like a Cormac McCarthy novel.

Now I'm psyched!

Illinois at Indiana

8:00 PM ET, BTN

It's the Battle of Assembly Hall! Meyers Leonard versus Cody Zeller! Crean versus Weber! Assembly Hall (the one in Bloomington) should be a pretty exciting place to be tonight as Illinois and Indiana meet for the only time this season. By the way, shouldn't Big Ten basketball teams have protected rivalries just like in football? It seems like a shame that these two teams only play once in the regular season.

Anyway, Illinois has lost four of five since their season peaked with a win over Ohio State on January 19. The Illini's schedule does not get any easier for them any time soon, so this is a big one. Certainly with Leonard and the amazing Brandon Paul, Illinois is capable of beating anyone on a given night, but on the road this season they've only defeated Maryland and Northwestern (the latter by a single point).

Indiana has to be feeling a little better about themselves after a victory over hated Purdue on Saturday, but the Hoosiers are another team who has seen their season peak too early. However, they finish the Big Ten schedule with 4 of 6 games at home, where they are much more comfortable.

When Indiana has the ball, Zeller versus Leonard will be the match-up to watch. If Leonard can slow down IU's phenom, there is a chance for Illinois to pull off the upset. Committing just one defender to Zeller should allow Illinois to get out on the perimeter shooters, but of course there is also Christian Watford to deal with.

Brandon Paul will be the main focus of IU's defense when Illinois has the ball. The Hoosiers don't really have a pair of guys who match up well with Paul and Leonard, but that's what makes them so tough. Look for the Hoosiers to swarm the Illini stars and force someone else to beat them.

Hit the jump to preview the other two Big Ten games tonight.

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