Big Ten Bloggers poll, week 8.

I expect some flak from IU fans for keeping the Hoosiers #3 after the win over Purdue, but I don't see any way around it. I can't exactly put IU ahead of Wisconsin given the Badgers' sweep of IU; I can't exactly put Purdue behind Wisconsin given Purdue's sweep of Wisconsin. Setting aside the head-to-head issues, IU is the only one of the top three with a home loss in conference and the only one of the top three without a road win against another contender. As long as the top three remain tied in the loss column, I don't see any way to sort it out.

For what it's worth, my ranking tracks the Big Ten Tournament tiebreakers. Head-to-head is the first tiebreaker, of course, and it's circular: IU hold the tiebreaker over Purdue which holds it over Wisconsin which holds it over IU. In the event of a three-way (or more) tie, the tied teams are ranked by their overall records against each other. Purdue is 2-1 against the group, Wisconsin is 2-2, and IU is 1-2, so the teams will be seeded in that order if there is a three way tie.

1. Purdue (21-6, 12-2). Last week: 1. The Boilers still are in the best shape for the #1 seed, but Wisconsin's win at OSU puts some pressure on the Boilers.

2. Wisconsin (23-4, 13-2). Last week: 2. If the Badgers can defend their homecourt against disappointing MSU, Wisconsin almost certainly will win a share of the Big Ten title.

3. Indiana (23-4, 12-2). Last week: 3. The Hoosiers handled a tough week admirably, with a home win against Purdue and a road win against Northwestern despite little opportunity to practice.

4. Michigan State (22-5, 10-4). Last week: 4. MSU continues to hang in there, but with more chance to act as a spoiler than anything else. MSU goes to Wisconsin and hosts IU this week.

5. Ohio State (17-10, 8-6). Last week: 5. The Buckeyes still can find a way to sneak in to the NCAA with remaining home games against Purdue and MSU, but they probably need to win both.

6. Minnesota (17-9, 7-7). Last week: 6. The Gophers continue to hang it, but probably need to win at Purdue and/or IU to stay in the NCAA hunt.

7. Michigan (9-17, 5-10). Last week: 7. A win over Illinois and the lingering goodwill from the win at Iowa keep the Wolverines in best-of-the-worst position.

8. Iowa (12-16, 5-10). Last week: 9. It shouldn't have been so close against NU, but Iowa looked more lifelike than Penn State this week.

9. Penn State (12-14, 4-10). Last week: 8. Tough week.

10. Illinois (11-17, 3-12). Last week: 10. Heh.

11. Northwestern (7-18, 0-14). Last week: 11. A couple of competitive games for NU this week, but nothing to show for it.