BTPowerhouse's Week 2 Big Ten Power Rankings - Hawkeyes Fall After Losses

The season is now well underway with every Big Ten team having played at least 3 games and a large hunk of the conference having played 4 games.  Plus, many of the teams have played quality opponents so far including Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Rutgers, and Wisconsin.  Overall, the Big Ten has started the season at 42-7.

The BTPowerhouse Week 2 Big Ten Power Rankings consisted of 20 voters.  A total of 11 voters came from the BTPowerhouse staff.  The remaining 9 votes came from SBNation's Big Ten team sites.  These sites included: Black Shoe Diaries, Bucky's 5th Quarter, The Champaign Room, Corn Nation, Crimson Quarry, Hammer & Rails, Maize & Brew, Off Tackle Empire, and On The Banks.  With that, here are the BTPowerhouse Week 2 Big Ten Power Rankings:

Big Ten Week 2 Power Rankings

#1 - Wisconsin (AVerage 1.0)

Another week and another set of rankings with Wisconsin as the unanimous #1 pick.  Not to worry though as the Badgers as set to face some more interesting opponents in the next few weeks including a massive showdown with Duke in the Big Ten - ACC Challenge.

#2 - Ohio State (Average 2.2)

The Buckeyes had a really solid week with an impressive win over Marquette on Tuesday and a dominating win over Sacred Heart on Sunday.  Shannon Scott looks like he could be one of the best passers in the Big Ten and D'Angelo Russell is living up to all the hype.  They get two teams rated outside the KenPom Top 200 this week.

#3 - Michigan (Average 3.5)

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The Wolverines had a bit of an up and down week with a complete blowout of Bucknell to start the week and a tough battle to beat Detroit on Thursday.  Overall, Michigan still looks like a top tier team in the Big Ten, but they will have to do more with Oregon to start this week.

#4 - Michigan State (Average 3.75))

The Spartans are up to 4th in this week's power rankings after going 1-1 last week.  Michigan State fell to Duke in a pretty competitive game early in the week, but handled Loyola (IL) over the weekend.  Travis Trice and Branden Dawson have been huge for MSU so far this season.

#5 - Illinois (Average 6.75)

The Illini have looked like offensive juggernauts so far this year and are riding back-to-back 100 point games.  Illinois has yet to face a major challenge this season, but things will get tougher, especially with an improving Miami team on the road for the Big Ten - ACC Challenge.

#6 - Indiana (Average 6.95)

The Hoosiers scored what might be the conference's best win of the young season last week when Indiana beat SMU at home.  SMU may or may not live up to the hype, but for an Indiana team that struggled with consistency last season, beating a ranked opponent at home is always good news.

#7 - Nebraska (Average 7.65)

The Cornhuskers fell pretty hard this week after a road loss to Rhode Island.  This certainly was not a bad loss as it came on the road in overtime, but it's a win that the team was certainly in position to snag late.  Winning on the road is never easy, but Nebraska needs to win these type of games if they want to reach that next level.

#8 - Minnesota (Average 7.7)

The Gophers are really starting to round into form after reeling off three dominating wins in a row.  The level of competition is certainly in question, but it was nice for the team to get back to winning after a disappointing opening loss.  They get St. John's this week.

#9 - Maryland (Average 7.85)

The Terps are still undefeated and have yet to face a serious challenge this season.  However, that changes with Arizona State on Monday night.  Many are predicting a Maryland win, but this should be a tight battle and could provide a valuable win to Maryland's resume.

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#10 - Iowa (Average 8.45)

The Hawkeyes stumbled big time in these rankings after losing to Texas and Syracuse last week.  Neither loss is bad on its face and both were tight losses.  However, it leaves the team without a solid win so far this year.  They will need to regroup and reel off a few wins in a row to move up.

#11 - Purdue (Average 10.55)

The Boilermakers have yet to face a serious challenge.  They will get Kansas State on Monday night and their face chance to prove themselves as a legitimate team.

#12 - Penn State (Average 11.65)

The Nittany Lions had three nail-biter games last week.  They won two of those games, but fell to Charlotte.  This looks like it could be a challenging year for Penn State.

#13 - Northwestern (Average 13.05)

The Wildcats have yet to look impressive this season.  They have played four games this season against teams that were all rated outside of the Top 200 on KenPom.  Northwestern had one game with a convincing margin of victory.  This team is going to need to do more to have a shot to move up.

#14 - Rutgers (Average 13.91)

The Scarlet Knights have shown moments were they look like they could be a competitive team, but have followed it up with bad stretches where they look like they don't belong in the Big Ten.  In positive news, Rutgers is no longer the unanimous last place team.