This B1G Week 1/20-26

Hello and welcome friends to another edition of this B1G Week. It's Grant here. You may know me as "the other guy who makes picks every week in this article". I am taking over for Troy this week as the main author. Think of me as a guest host. Don't worry, Troy will still be providing his picks for the week, and he'll be back as "host" next week.

I do not follow the college basketball season nearly as closely as Troy, but I will try my best to provide analysis and fill the void this week. It's been a couple of weeks since I last watched an entire college basketball game. I've been busy watching other things, including a game show where people only interact via social media, a show about two old women whose ex-husbands are gay, and a show that is mostly Gordon Ramsey yelling at people.

Big Ten has been absolutely wild thus far this season. Road teams are a combined 16-52 in conference play. Illinois and Rutgers are ranked, while Purdue, Michigan and Ohio State are in the bottom half of the Big Ten standings. Trying to predict who will win each week has been a crapshoot. That being said, we'll take another go out it and hope we shoot better crap this week.

Big Ten Game of the Week

Wednesday - 9 pm - BTN - Rutgers @ Iowa - This represents the only Big Ten matchup between ranked teams this week. The sports powerhouse that is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights is ranked 24th in the nation and are just one game back of Michigan State in the conference standings. The 19th-ranked Hawkeyes are a game behind Rutgers. Safe to say that this game will have a great impact on the Big Ten race.

Nonconference Game of the Week

Tuesday - 7 pm - CBSSN - Butler @ Villanova - Yes, I'm going with the square answer for each game of the week: the highest ranked-vs-ranked matchups. The number nine team in the country (Villanova) hosts the number thirteen team (Butler) Tuesday night The Bulldogs have lost their last two games, and they'll hope to get back on track in a battle of Big East teams that are chasing Seton Hall. 

Power Ranking

Troy's

1. Michigan State
2. Illinois
3. Maryland
4. Wisconsin
5. Rutgers
6. Penn State
7. Iowa
8. Michigan
9. Minnesota
10. Indinaa
11. Purdue 
12. Ohio State
13. Nebraska
14. Northwestern

Grant's

1. Michigan State
2. Maryland
3. Illinois
4. Iowa
5. Rutgers
6. Wisconsin
7. Penn State
8. Indiana
9. Minnesota
10. Purdue
11. Michigan 
12. Ohio State
13. Nebraska
14. Northwestern

Power Ranking Thoughts

I started with Troy's power rankings from last week, then went from there to create my own. I think MSU and MD are the most talented teams in the conference, and they are also the highest-ranked. I believe in Rutgers, but I still look at them with a skeptical eye. Despite being an Ohio State fan, I have the Buckeyes 12th, which is where Troy had them last week (and where they're ranked now). I think they are better than 12th, but right now, they're a mess.

Actual Rankings

1. Michigan State: 6-1 / 14-4
2. Illinois: 5-2 / 13-5
3. Rutgers: 5-2 / 14-4
4. Iowa: 4-3 / 13-5
5. Wisconsin: 4-3 / 11-7
6. Maryland: 4-3 / 14-4
7. Indiana: 4-3 / 14-4
8. Minnesota - 4-4 / 10-8
9. Penn State - 3-4 / 13-5
10. Purdue: 3-4 / 10-8
11. Michigan: 2-4 / 11-6
12. Ohio State: 2-5 / 12-6
13. Nebraska: 2-5 / 7-11
14. Northwestern: 1-6 / 6-11

B1G Picks

Tuesday

7 pm - FS1 - Maryland @ Northwestern
Grant's Pick: Maryland, Troy's Pick: Maryland

7 pm - ESPN/2/U - Illinois @ Purdue
Grant's Pick: Purdue, Troy's Pick: Purdue

9 pm - BTN - Nebraska @ Wisconsin
Grant's Pick: Wisconsin, Troy's Pick: Wisconsin

Wednesday

7 pm - BTN - Penn State vs Michigan

Grant's Pick: Penn State, Troy's Pick: Michigan

9 pm - BTN - Rutgers @ Iowa
Grant's Pick: Iowa, Troy's Pick: Iowa

Thursday

6:30 pm - FS1 - Minnesota @ Ohio State
Grant's Pick: Ohio State, Troy's Pick: Ohio State

8:30 pm - FS1 - Michigan State @ Indiana
Grant's Pick: Michigan State, Troy's Pick: Michigan State

Friday

7 pm - FS1 - Wisconsin @ Purdue
Grant's Pick: Wisconsin, Troy's Pick: Purdue

Saturday

Noon - FS1 - Illinois @ Michigan

Grant's Pick: Michigan, Troy's Pick: Michigan

2 pm - BTN - Nebraska @ Rutgers
Grant's Pick: Rutgers, Troy's Pick: Rutgers

Sunday

1 pm - CBS - Maryland @ Indiana
Grant's Pick: Indiana, Troy's Pick: Indiana

3 pm - Fox - Michigan State @ Minnesota
Grant's Pick: Michigan State, Troy's Pick: Michigan State

6:30 pm - Ohio State @ Northwestern 
Grant's Pick: Ohio State, Troy's Pick: Ohio State

Grant's Previous Week Pick Record: 9-3

Grant's Total Pick Record: 133-53

Troy's Previous Week Pick Record: 12-0

Troy's Total Pick Record: 138-48



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