Men’s basketball Big Ten Homeroom, Feb. 22

1. Michigan State (22-5 overall, 11-3 Big Ten)

Senior forward Draymond Green was named National Player of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association on Tuesday for his play in the Spartans' wins over Wisconsin and Purdue. Green scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in each of those games. Michigan State might as well have been named team of the week as well after they had no problem with either the Badgers, a 69-55 win, or Boilermakers, a 76-62 win.

2. Michigan (21-7, 11-4)

The Wolverines could be a dangerous team come tournament time. They are a hardy bunch and are well-acquainted with big games. Michigan has won its fair share of them in fact. The Wolverines are tied with three other teams for second in the nation with five wins over Top 25 teams.

3. Ohio State (23-5, 11-4)

Ohio State has fallen from the top spot in the conference in recent weeks after its losses to both Michigan schools. Don't mistake that for a lack of confidence in this team as the postseason nears. The Buckeyes have all the pieces to make a run in March, and much of the blame for their recent hiccups can be attributed to the day-in, day-out pressures of playing in the toughest conference in the nation.

4. Wisconsin (20-7, 9-5)

The Big Ten leads the nation with five 20-win teams, a number bolstered by the Badgers latest win, a 65-55 victory against Penn State on Sunday. With 20 wins and a few notable pelts in its bag, Wisconsin is a sure-fire NCAA Tournament team, but the Badgers are probably sitting too far out of the conference lead to compete for the Big Ten title. This team will simply be looking to add to its resume and earn a better seed over the next few weeks.

5. Indiana (20-7, 8-7)

The Hoosiers have been in the AP Top 25 for each of the season's past 11 weeks, but their 78-66 loss to Iowa on Sunday has put that streak in peril. Indiana is No. 24 this week, but the good news for them is that they don't have the toughest of slates this week. The Hoosiers will face North Carolina Central on Wednesday before going to Minnesota on Sunday.

6. Purdue (17-10, 7-7)

The Boilermakers are not a careless team with the rock in their hands. Purdue leads the nation with just 8.7 turnovers per contest this season. That number is impressive nationally, but among their own conference mates they are closely trailed by a few other teams. Wisconsin is second in the nation with an average of exactly nine per game, and Northwestern is fourth at 10.2.

7. Iowa (14-13, 6-8)

Iowa is coming off a huge 78-66 upset win against No. 24 Indiana on Sunday and will look to follow it with another win over a ranked opponent when the Hawkeyes square off with No. 15 Wisconsin this Thursday. Senior guard Matt Gatens led the Hawkeyes this past week scoring 30 points in their win over Indiana and 21 in a 69-64 loss to Penn State on Thursday. Forward Melsahn Basabe recorded five blocks for Iowa against Indiana as well.

8. Northwestern (16-11, 6-9)

Wildcat forward John Shurna broke the Northwestern career-scoring record in the Wildcats' 64-53 win over Minnesota on Saturday. He is now honing in on the 2,000 point mark as the conference season winds down. His 14 points in the Northwestern loss to Michigan on Tuesday have him sitting at 1,916 points with three regular season games remaining.

9. Minnesota (17-10, 5-9)

The Gophers are halfway through a six-game stretch in which they play five ranked conference opponents. So far it has been a rough go, as they have gone winless so far. They did take Wisconsin to overtime in the first game of the stretch, but eventually lost 68-61. Up next is No. 6 Michigan State on Wednesday.

10. Illinois (16-12, 5-10)

Illinois has lost six games in a row and it does not appear that they will be changing that streak any time soon. The Illini just lost to Ohio State 83-67 on Tuesday and get Iowa on Sunday. The Illini do not look like a focused basketball team right now and things could get messy for them with Michigan and Wisconsin lurking down the road.

11. Nebraska (12-13, 4-10)

The Huskers got a much needed win on Saturday, 80-57 over Illinois. NU used a 36-4 run that spanned both halves in the process of posting its most impressive performance of the season to date. The performance has plenty of Husker fans wondering where this team has been until this point in the season.

12. Penn State (12-16, 4-11)

This was certainly a topsy-turvy week for the Big Ten. So much so that both Nebraska and Penn State were able to notch "W"s on their schedules this week. The Nittany Lions got theirs against Iowa on Thursday 69-64. Junior guard Tim Frazier led the team to victory with his 18 points and four steals.

— Compiled By Lanny Holstein