How good is the Big Ten?
According to the Ratings Percentage Index on Rivals.com, here are the RPI rankings of the teams in the Big Ten, with games through Sunday factored in: Michigan 5, Michigan State 9, Indiana 11, Minnesota 13, Ohio State 23, Illinois 25, Wisconsin 31, Iowa 92, Nebraska 97, Northwestern 102, Purdue 130, Penn State 202.
These numbers tell several things.
1. The No. 1 team in the AP poll is actually No. 3 in its own conference in the RPI rankings.
2. Illinois, sitting eighth in the conference with a 4-7 record in league play, has an RPI of 25. That’s sick.
3. Eleven of the 12 teams are in the top 130. Purdue is a pretty salty team to have the second-lowest RPI in the league, and to the Boilermakers’ credit, they have scraped and clawed their way to a 5-6 conference mark with a largely freshman cast.
4. Day two of the Big Ten tournament will be fun.
Here’s another thing to consider: Illinois is eighth in the Big Ten with a 17-8 overall record and a 25 RPI. Here are the other eighth-place teams in power conferences, with records and RPI: ACC-Clemson 12-11, 151; Big East-St. John’s 15-9, 55; Big 12-Texas 10-13, 159; Pac 12-USC 11-13, 104; SEC-LSU 13-8, 112.
So clearly, facing the eighth-place team in the Big Ten is a bit different than facing the eighth-place team in other leagues.
