Four Big Ten Teams In The Top 10 of Week 16 Polls

The AP and USA Today Coaches’ polls released earlier this week for Week 16 of the season and five Big Ten teams were fortunate enough to make the cut. It’s an impressive achievement for the league and that’s not even to mention two other teams who narrowly missed the cut for the top 25.

Here is where the Big Ten landed:

Week 16 AP Poll:

• No. 3 - Illinois
• No. 4 - Michigan
• No. 5 - Iowa
• No. 9 - Ohio State
• No. 20 - Purdue
• Receiving Votes: Wisconsin, Michigan State

Week 16 USA Today Coaches’ Poll

• No. 3 - Illinois
• No. 4 - Michigan
• No. 6 - Iowa
• No. 10 - Ohio State
• No. 19 - Purdue
• Receiving Votes: Michigan State, Wisconsin

While it’s disappointing to see teams like Michigan and Wisconsin drop, there’s still a lot to like here. Three teams in the top five and four in the top 10 is an impressive achievement. And that’s not even to mention Purdue near the tail end of the top 25 and the two other teams receiving top 25 votes. The league remains stacked.

Perhaps the most intriguing question moving forward will be how high teams like Illinois, Michigan, and Iowa can rise if they win this week’s Big Ten Tournament. It figures to be a great week of action. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.