Anybody seen Kasparas Jakucionis? Oh, he must be in foul trouble again – perhaps of the phantom variety.

So close, Illinois came – again – to making a move for the No. 1 spot in these Big Ten power rankings. But losing at Michigan State by an eyelash despite the Illini’s best player being whistled to death by the stripes prevented it.

There’s always next time.

Meantime, the Spartans remain strong at the top. Purdue has been coming on like gangbusters. Those two teams and the Illini seem to have a potential championship gear that other good teams in the league – Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon – might not be able to reach. But we’ll see, right? Long way to go.

Let’s take it from the bottom (all times Central):

A little birdie told us the Gophers actually dented the win column by beating Michigan. We assumed it was a lie, then looked it up and – whoa! OK, excitement’s over.

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 121.

Next up: 8 p.m. Tuesday at Iowa (BTN).

Gotta get DJ Davis back on the wing and doing his thing. Without his deep threat, there isn’t much this team can do.

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 93.

Next up: 10 p.m. Tuesday at Oregon (BTN).

This is a harsh ranking considering how competive the Nittany Lions were against both Oregon and Michigan State. On the other hand: Sorry, not sorry.

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 47.

Next up: 5:30 p.m. Monday vs. Rutgers (Peacock).

Is it possible the Wizard of Oz or whoever controls the NET mistakenly factored some football data into the Buckeyes’ ranking?

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 36.

Next up: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Purdue (Peacock).

Prediction: Wednesday’s game against Indiana will go to overtime, because all Wildcats games do. These guys never make it easy on themselves, do they?

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 51.

Next up: 6 p.m. Wednesday vs. Indiana (BTN).

Signs of life are coming from what just might have been the most overblown team in America. Don’t give up on the Scarlet Knights yet.

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 85.

Next up: 5:30 p.m. Monday at Penn State (Peacock).

A four-game losing streak, all of it in conference, has sucked the life right out of this Huskers story. Check back with you next season, fellas! But we only kid.

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 49.

Next up: 8 p.m. Wednesday vs. USC (BTN).

Once you start knocking off “I” schools – in the Trojans’ case, Illinois and Iowa – you know you’re in the Big Ten.

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 76.

Next up: 8 p.m. Wednesday at Nebraska (BTN).

Just when we were starting to suspect the Hawkeyes might be pleasantly decent, they ran through USC and UCLA and got their butts kicked.

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 55.

Next up: 8 p.m. Tuesday vs. Minnesota (BTN).

If the Bruins can follow up a blowout of Iowa with a win at home against Wisconsin, maybe fans can stop panicking for at least a little bit.

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 34.

Next up: 8:30 p.m. Tuesday vs. Wisconsin (Peacock).

The Terps are 9-2 against Illinois teams coached by Brad Underwood. Upset alert on Thursday?

Polls: N/A.

Net ranking: 24.

Next up: 8 p.m. Thursday at Illinois (FS1).

Hoosiers fans just might boo Mike Woodson all the way up until the NCAA Tournament. In fairness to them, this team can look pretty dang good but also completely awful.

Polls: N/A.

NET ranking: 61.

Next up: 6 p.m. Wednesday at Northwestern (BTN).

Look, you lose to Minnesota, you drop in these rankings. It’s the law, after all.

Polls: No. 21 AP, No. 20 coaches.

NET ranking: 12.

Next up: 7 p.m. Friday at Purdue (FOX).

The Ducks have lost three league games in their own gym. Something about this team just fails to fully impress.

Polls: No. 15 AP, No. 15 coaches.

NET ranking: 22.

Next up: 10 p.m. Tuesday vs. Washington (BTN).

The Badgers are hot – five straight conference “Ws” – but are they of the same caliber as the teams ahead of them this week? We’re unconvinced.

Polls: No. 18 AP, No. 19 coaches.

NET ranking: 21.

Next up: 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at UCLA (Peacock).

Clearly, the Illlini can beat anybody in the conference – and beyond – but they do need to be better at closing games.

Polls: No. 17 AP, No. 17 coaches.

NET ranking: 8.

Next up: 8 p.m. Thursday vs. Maryland (FS1).

That sound you hear is Braden Smith dropping yet another perfect dime. What a player.

Polls: No. 11 AP, No. 12 coaches.

NET ranking: 10.

Next up: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday vs. Ohio State (Peacock).

The Spartans deserve this ranking – there’s no question about it – yet one suspects they’re not the least bit eager to encounter the Illini again down the line.

Polls: No. 8 AP, No. 8 coaches.

NET ranking: 16.

Next up: 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Rutgers (CBS).

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