SiriusXM Big Ten Radio’s Basketball Power Rankings

The regular season is in the rear view mirror and the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament is set in Chicago this week:  Here’s a look at this week’s “Power Rankings:’

1. Purdue – The Boilermakers wound up the regular season with a two game winning streak and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

2. Indiana – A solid end to the regular season for the Hoosiers who look to carry momentum into Chicago as the No. 3 tournament seed.

3. Northwestern – An incredible year for the Wildcats who ended the regular season with a victory over Rutgers  to go 12-8 in the conference.

4. Michigan State – The Spartans earned a conference tournament double bye thanks to ending the regular season with a pair of wins.

5. Iowa – The Hawkeyes stumbled in their regular season finale and take on the Ohio State-Wisconsin winner in their first tournament game.

6. Maryland – The regular season ending in the wrong direction for the Terps who lost their final two games of the schedule.

7. Illinois – The enigmatic Fighting Illini need to harness some consistency now that tournament time is here.

8. Michigan – The Wolverines can be explosive but they lost their final two regular season games ahead of facing Rutgers in the conference tournament.

9. Penn State – A strong finish for the Nittany Lions who take on Illinois in the tournament opener after winning their last two games.

10. Rutgers – A disappointing end to the regular season for the Scarlet Knights with a two game losing streak heading into Chicago.

11. Nebraska – The Huskers could be dangerous team in the conference tournament after pulling off several surprising wins in the regular season.

12. Wisconsin – A 9-11 conference record was not expected in Madison this season by many.

13. Ohio State – The Buckeyes closed a very disappointing regular season with a 5-15 record including a 1-10 road record.

14. Minnesota – Just two conference wins and eight overall was all the Gophers could put on the board this year.