Big Ten men's basketball power rankings: Can anyone in the conference shoot?

Can anyone in the Big Ten shoot?

The first week of the season was occasionally ugly and bordered on downright offensive when it came to the Big Ten’s ability to hit shots from the perimeter. Five of the league’s 14 teams connected on fewer than 30% of their 3-point attempts during the first week of games and seven of them connected on less than a third. It’s led to some clunky play, a few upsets and a lack of marquee wins from a conference that opened the year with two teams in the national title conversation.

At least Purdue is living up to the preseason hype, bludgeoning overmatched opponents and generally playing like a team dying to make amends for last year’s historic first-round NCAA Tournament exit. Otherwise, some of the standard-bearers have taken on some early water in a Big Ten that will need to sort a few things out before launching into Feast Week.

Either way, it’s not great to already be sorting through which teams have the best losses in a league with national title aspirations. Some of these rankings should solidify as the level of competition increases, but for now there's more volatility in them than Fran McCaffery after a block/charge call in the final minutes of a close game.

Here’s how things have shaken out in the first week of the season.

1. Purdue (Last week: 2)

What to know: It’s not just that the Boilermakers have opened with wins against overmatched opponents. It’s the fact that they haven’t even remotely entertained the thought of letting the games resemble something close to competitive that has been most impressive about Purdue. Plus, the season opener gave us a photo for the ages: 7-4 Zach Edey taking the opening tip against Samford guard Dallas Graziani who, in a pregame video, told a tongue-in-cheek coach Bucky McMillian that he’s actually 5-7½, not 5-7. Either way, Edey won and Purdue looks elite early.

2. Northwestern (Last week: 6)

What to know: It’s both a credit to the Wildcats and an indictment on the league that Northwestern has arguably the league’s noisiest first-week win, and it was a 71-66 home victory against a Dayton team that just lost star Malachi Smith to a season-ending injury. Perhaps most encouraging is that the Wildcats were able to fend off the Flyers despite Boo Buie battling foul trouble, and coach Chris Collins has gotten encouraging early contributions from Ryan Langborg and Brooks Barnhizer, who has opened the year with consecutive double-doubles.

3. Iowa (Last week: 10)

What to know: Maybe we collectively slept on Iowa at our own risk. You might not be able to name many players on this year’s roster (although you should be paying attention to Ben Krikke, for starters), but the Hawkeyes have opened the season by doing Hawkeyes things. Iowa scored 110 points in its opening win against North Dakota and just missed the century mark in a 98-67 win against Alabama State. Settle in and enjoy another year of entertaining (read: high scoring, defense optional) Iowa basketball under Fran McCaffery.

4. Michigan (Last week: 11)

What to know: Michigan spent much of the preseason insisting that it was being overlooked and that the Wolverines were a team to sleep on at your own risk. Flirting with triple digits in each of their first two games is a good way to start proving their point. Dug McDaniel looks to be settling into the role of sophomore go-to guard and Olivier Nkamhoua appears to be on the way to Big Ten stardom. There are questions about how sustainable Michigan’s offense is long-term, but this start has been impressive, especially as coach Juwan Howard recovers from offseason heart surgery.

5. Illinois (Last week: 1)

What to know: The Illini had all of the preseason Big Ten buzz after beating No. 1 Kansas – and public enemy No. 1 Hunter Dickinson – in a charity exhibition. In the games that actually count, though, it’s been tougher sledding seemingly on and off the court. The enigmatic Coleman Hawkins scored just one point in 14 minutes in the opener, Sencire Harris announced a decision to redshirt for his second season and for some reason a team that wants to take fewer 3s took 42.5% of its shots from beyond the arc in its first two games. Terrence Shannon remains a must-watch talent, but the early intrigue is already bubbling up in Champaign.

6. Minnesota (Last week: 14)

What to know: Could the Golden Gophers be the ultimate surprise team in the Big Ten? It’s probably a stretch to say that so early, but Minnesota has opened the year with two wins of 20-plus points for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Those Gophers won the NIT under Richard Pitino. These Gophers have one of the early feel-good stories in the Big Ten in Parker Fox, a Division II transfer who missed two seasons with injuries but is finally healthy and helping his home-state university.

7. Nebraska (Last week: 12)

What to know: Without star Keisai Tominaga as he continues to recover from an ankle injury suffered during an exhibition game, Nebraska opened the season 2-0 for only the second time in Fred Hoiberg’s five seasons. The Huskers haven’t played anyone of note, but a 29.5-point margin of victory feels like the Cornhuskers are carrying over some of the momentum from winning six of their final nine games last season. Shout-out to Sam Hoiberg, who will be forever linked with Zion Williamson after his shoe essentially exploded against Florida A&M. Nice touch, too, tossing it to the student section for a unique souvenir.

8. Wisconsin (Last week: 7)

What to know: Raise your hand if you knew the Badgers were allowed to score more than 100 points in a game. Or even more than 90. After Wisconsin scored more than 80 points just once in regulation last season, the Badgers opened the season by dropping 105 points on Arkansas State to set a Kohl Center single-game scoring record. No. 9 Tennessee brought the Badgers back to reality, but it was good to see Connor Essegian on the court after he was injured in the opener.

9. Indiana (Last week: 5)

What to know: It could’ve been worse. Much worse. Trailing at home to Florida Gulf Coast, coach Mike Woodson had to figure out which players to lean on in the absence of the likes of Trayce Jackson-Davis. He solved the big problem by going small, and a lineup with Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway and freshman Gabe Cupps rescued the Hoosiers from an upset bid at the hands of the Eagles (led by former Penn State coach Pat Chambers). It was a win, but questions abound about who these Hoosiers will be.

10. Michigan State (Last week: 3)

What to know: The Spartans can’t be this bad from deep, can they? A preseason Final Four pick, Michigan State dealt the Big Ten its first black eye of the year by taking a stunning home loss in overtime to James Madison on opening night. Yet after going 1 for 20 from 3 against the Dukes of JMU, the Spartans handled Southern Indiana despite going 1 for 11 from deep. Raise your hand if you had Michigan State, which shot 39.3% from 3 last season, going 2 for 31 (6.5%) in its first two games? Oh, and Tom Izzo is openly questioning his team’s leadership. Everything is fine.

11. Ohio State (Last week: 8)

What to know: Unlike many of their Big Ten brethren, the Buckeyes have faced down a ranked opponent during the first week of the season. A loss to No. 15 Texas A&M is understandable in a lot of ways, but Ohio State didn’t look like a world-beater in needing a second-half comeback to fend off Oakland in the opener, either. Sophomore guard Bruce Thornton is being relied upon at a rate rivaling Brice Sensabaugh’s output last season, and that didn’t go so well for the Buckeyes. More balance – and better defense – will be required for this Ohio State season to be better than the last.

12. Maryland (Last week: 4)

What to know: The Terrapins were darn near unbeatable last season inside the Xfinity Center and struggled just about everywhere else. A chic pick to make inroads at the top of the Big Ten this year, Maryland took a loss in its first trip of the year while missing 18 3-pointers against Davidson in the opening round of the Asheville Championship. Coach Kevin Willard has kept to a tight rotation, playing 10 guys in the opener against Mount St. Mary’s and only eight in the loss to the Wildcats. It’s not just the 3-point shooting, though: Maryland’s offense is in need of some kind of jolt.

13. Penn State (Last week: 13)

What to know: The Mike Rhoades era encountered its first test with adversity as it headed to halftime against Lehigh tied at 38 after a blowout win against Delaware State in the opener. The Nittany Lions responded to pull away from the Mountain Hawks and got a second consecutive 20-plus-point outing from Kanye Clary. Where Penn State ultimately ends up this season is a mystery, but Qudus Wahab looks the part of one of the league’s elite rebounders.

14. Rutgers (last week: 9)

What to know: Give credit where credit is due: Steve Pikiell agreed to take the Scarlet Knights to Trenton and face Princeton for an in-state showdown the likes of which plenty high-major teams would decline. The rub for Rutgers is that Princeton generally out-toughed the Scarlet Knights, who were only 6 for 14 on layups in taking their first opening-game loss since the 2014-15 season. Freshman wing Gavin Griffiths broke out for 25 points in a win against Boston in the home opener, but it was an inauspicious start for Pikiell’s side.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Big Ten men's basketball power rankings: Can anyone shoot?