2015-16 Week 10 Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: New Leader Emerges

It was an epic week of conference play from top to bottom that featured thrillers, upsets, and some surprising results. The top of the conference is still a battle and teams are fighting in the middle to secure their respective places in the NCAA Tournament. Thanks to all this action, there was plenty of movement in this week's power rankings.

The BTPowerhouse Power Rankings is composed of votes from 45 writers that cover the Big Ten and three statistical measures (KenPom, RPI, Sagarin). This voting group is composed of BTPowerhouse's staff, 15 writers from SBNation's other Big Ten related sites, Steve Lorenz, Luke Srodulski, Josh Stephens, and Mike Wilson from 247Sports, Brendan Brody of Rush The Court, Alex Cook from MGoBlog, Andrew Kulha from Today's U, Shawn O'Neal from Lindy Sports, and Jim Weber from Lost Lettermen. (Not all writers participated in each set of rankings).

With that, here are BTPowerhouse's week 10 Big Ten power rankings.

Big Ten Week 10 Power Rankings

#1 - Iowa Hawkeyes (331 Points) +2

The Hawkeyes had an outstanding week and really put the conference and nation on notice with two impressive wins. Iowa started by going on the road and blowing out Michigan State and followed it up with a solid win over a quality Michigan team at home. With the wins, Iowa is up to 14-3 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten.

Overall, Iowa received 79.2 percent of the first place votes this week. Though Iowa was the clear No. 1 in the power rankings, it did receive far fewer No. 1 votes than one might have anticipated. After all, Iowa and Maryland both faced Michigan this week. Iowa won and Maryland didn't.

The Hawkeyes will go on the road to face Rutgers and will face Purdue at home this week.

#2 - Maryland Terrapins (310 Points) -1

The Terps had two games this week and starkly different results in each. Maryland started by going on the road and losing a thriller to Michigan and followed it up by completing dominating Ohio State at home. Melo Trimble had a bit of an underwhelming week, but he played well against the Buckeyes and other starters stepped up.

Overall, Maryland received 20.8 percent of the first place votes this week, which was a pretty big drop from last week. Nonetheless, the Terps will have a chance to rebound with Northwestern at home and Michigan State on the road.

#3 - Michigan State Spartans (269 Points) -1

The Spartans easily had the team's worst week of the season. Michigan State started the week by getting blown out at home against Iowa and followed it up with a narrow road loss against Wisconsin. It was Michigan State's first back-to-back losses in its last 28 games.

Overall, Michigan State received no first-place votes and dropped significantly in its vote total. Not surprising given the Spartans went 0-2 this week. If the team is going to get back into the Big Ten title hunt, it will have to start this week with Nebraska and Maryland both at home.

#4 - Indiana Hoosiers (262 Points) +1

The Hoosiers only had one game this week and went on the road to beat Minnesota. That game was actually pretty competitive for most of the afternoon with Indiana pulling away late. With the win, Indiana is up to 5-0 in Big Ten play and looks in position to make a run at the conference title.

This week, the Hoosiers will get Illinois and Northwestern at home. Both look like very winnable games on paper, so Indiana could be in position to get to 7-0 by the end of the week.

#4 - Purdue Boilermakers (262 Points) --

The Boilermakers only had one game this week, but recorded an easy win against Penn State at home on Wednesday. With the win, Purdue is now 15-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten. Undoubtedly, it's been a disappointing start to conference play, but the team is still in decent position. This week, Purdue gets the rare three game slate with Rutgers on the road, Ohio State at home, and Iowa on the road. If the Boilermakers still have a chance at the regular season title, winning at least two of those games is a must.

#6 - Michigan Wolverines (220 Points) --

The Wolverines had arguably its toughest scheduling week of the season with Maryland at home and Iowa on the road this week. Michigan was able to split the games thanks to a huge victory over the Terps. As a result, Michigan sits in a unique position. The team is 3-2 in the Big Ten and has four very manageable games ahead including Minnesota at home and Nebraska on the road this week. If the team can "take care of business," it could be set to make a big run up the Big Ten standings.

#7 - Wisconsin Badgers (178 Points) +2

The Badgers lost early in the week on the road against Northwestern, but rebounded with a major win over Michigan State at home on Sunday. Wisconsin is only 10-9 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten, but every loss in conference play has been close, which leads one to wonder whether the team is starting to trend up. With Penn State on the road this week, there's a decent chance the team can continue the upward momentum.

#8 - Ohio State Buckeyes (164 Points) -1

The Buckeyes had a pretty rough week. Though things started with a win at home against Rutgers, the team ended the week with a blowout loss on the road against Maryland. This wasn't even just a blowout either. Ohio State was completely dominated from start to finish and never had any serious chance of even being competitive. The Buckeyes only have one game this week, but with a road game against Purdue, things are going to remain challenging. Though Ohio State certainly still has an NCAA Tournament at-large chance, time is running out.

#9 - Northwestern Wildcats (152 Points) -1

The Wildcats split the team's games last week, but it was still a major step in the wrong direction. Though the win over Wisconsin was huge, the loss to Penn State wiped away virtually all of that positive momentum. In fact, with the hit that Northwestern took to its RPI, it's going to be very tough to get an NCAA at-large bid now. The Wildcats will travel and face Maryland and Indiana on the road this week. Even a split in these games would be huge.

#10 - Nebraska Cornhuskers (124 Points) +1

The Huskers had two games this week and scored a blowout win over Minnesota and a road win over a tricky Illinois team. Nebraska still has some work to do to get in serious postseason contention, but with huge matchups against Michigan State and Michigan this week, a win or two could really move Nebraska up the standings.

Perhaps the most important thing for Nebraska will be scoring a marquee win. Reaching the NCAA Tournament will be a longshot, but the NIT is still within reach and if the Huskers can beat a top team, it would help quite a bit.

#11 - Illinois Fighting Illini (90 Points) -1

The Illini only had one game this week and it ended in disappointing fashion with a home loss to Nebraska. Illinois has been really inconsistent this year and after the win over Purdue, many were hopeful that things were heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, the Illini are just 1-4 in conference play following that loss. Illinois gets Indiana and Minnesota on the road and desperately needs to win at least one of those matchups.

#12 - Penn State Nittany Lions (84 Points) --

The Nittany Lions had a relatively successful week. Things started with a rough loss on the road to Purdue, but really turned around with a road win over Northwestern. In fact, the win over Northwestern was probably Penn State's best of the season and could be big in the conference standings by season's end. Penn State will get Wisconsin at home this week with a chance to score another quality win.

#13 - Minnesota Golden Gophers (47 Points) --

The Gophers actually showed some fight this week, but still lost to both Nebraska and Indiana. Minnesota is now 0-6 in the Big Ten and looks doomed for a rough next few months. This week, the Gophers get Michigan on the road and Illinois at home. Both should be difficult as Minnesota looks for its first conference win of the season.

#14 - Rutgers Scarlet Knights (26 Points) --

The Scarlet Knights only had one game this week and got blown out on the road against Ohio State. The game was actually competitive at halftime, but the wheels fell off in the second half. Rutgers is now 6-12 overall and will get Purdue and Iowa at home, where the Scarlet Knights have six and four percent chances to win per KenPom.