As I was tabulating the results (OK, looking at the spreadsheet), it seemed like there were some natural groupings. So I arranged the teams in groups for old time's sake.

1. Michigan State - 1.0 (no change)

The Spartans are already assured of at least a share of the conference crown. A win at Indiana or at home against Ohio State would be enough for a outright title. They are in a class by themselves.

2. Wisconsin - 2.7 (up two)

3. Ohio State - 2.8 (down one)

4. Michigan - 3.5 (down two)

All of the second-tier teams won and lost a game last week. Wisconsin's win at Ohio State was the most impressive, and Michigan's loss to Purdue and their near loss at Northwestern puts them at the bottom of this grouping.

5. (tie) Indiana - 5.5 (no change)

5. (tie) Purdue - 5.5 (up one)

Indiana looked good in their win at Minnesota and also had a game against the North Carolina Central Eagles. Purdue blew out Nebraska at home and followed that up by pulling away from Michigan in the second half for a big road win.

7. (tie) Northwestern - 7.5 (up one)

7. (tie) Iowa - 7.5 (no change)

Northwestern still has a shot at getting into the tournament without winning the Big Ten Tournament. Iowa doesn't (because of their poor showing in the non-con), but they are on equal footing in the conference standings and the power rankings.

9. Minnesota - 9.2 (no change)

10. Illinois - 10.0 (up one)

The Gophers have fallen on hard times recently, losing their last five games. They have all been against quality opponents, but it's hard to move up in the rankings without a win. Illinois finally got a win, beating Iowa on Sunday. It looks like this tier is headed to the NIT.

11. Penn State - 11.0 (no change)

12. Nebraska - 11.8 (down two)

Penn State leapfrogs Nebraska after the Huskers' 34 point showing against Michigan State. To put 34 points in perspective, if Nebraska was in that terrible Big Ten Tournament game last year against Penn State (instead of Wisconsin), they would have lost by two.

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.

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.

I stole the idea of grouping the teams from a comment in a previous power ranking post. The numbers of this edition were well-suited to grouping. As always, the number after the team is the average ranking from each of the voters.

1. Ohio State - 1.0 (no change)
2. Michigan State - 2.0 (no change)

No question among our writers about the top two teams. OSU hasn't lost since Brandon Paul had a career night and MSU rebounded this week after losing two in a row on the road.

3. Michigan - 3.4 (no change)
4. Wisconsin - 3.6 (up 2)

The Wolerines lost to Ohio St. on the road; there's no shame in that. Wisconsin is starting to play like a normal Wisconsin team: slow and with more points at the end of the game than the other team.

5. Purdue - 5.8 (up 2)
6. Minnesota - 6.2 (up 2)
7. Indiana - 6.8 (down 3)
8. Illinois - 7.2 (down 4)

The logjam at the middle is hard to figure. Not sure that Purdue deserves the top spot in this group, but arguments can be made against all four of these teams. Indiana's offensive explosion against Iowa on Sunday wasn't enough to jump Minnesota, who beat Illinois after the Illini refused to close it out in The Barn.

9. Nebraska - 9.4 (up 3)
10. Iowa - 9.6 (down one)

Nebraska beat Iowa in Iowa City, so they get the top spot in this group.

11. Northwestern - 11.4 (down one)
12. Penn St. - 11.6 (down one)

Northwestern has fallen off since beating MSU at home. Injuries added to their already thin bench has really hurt them this season. Penn St. continues their rebuilding year under Pat Chambers.

It's time for the second installment of the Power Rankings. The Power Rankings are voted on by our writers, and, due to life in the volatile Big Ten, will be subject to numerous changes throughout the season. The number after the team is their average vote, and the change from last week is in parentheses after that.

Enough with the introduction, click on to see the list.

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We're a good way into the conference season, and the overall picture is still pretty muddy. As a soon as a team seems to rise above the pack, they suffer an odd loss that brings them back to earth. When a team looks like their season is hopeless, they'll pull out a crazy upset like Minnesota did at Indiana.

That being said, it's time for Power Rankings, a weekly attempt by our writers to figure out the mess that is the Big Ten. Feel free to argue about the rankings in the conference; next week this list will probably be a lot different.

Enough with the introductions, here are the Power Rankings, with the average rank after the team name.

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