The 2016-17 Big Ten basketball season has been chaotic, to say the least. The conference record for overtime games in a season has nearly been eclipsed, and there’s still two more weeks to go. The top three teams are looking strong; Purdue, Wisconsin and Maryland seem to have solidified themselves as the kings of the Big Ten. But after that it gets messy. Take a look at the current standings and notice the cluster of teams that sit anywhere from fifth to thirteenth:
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The Illini are trying to climb their way up the conference ladder following back-to-back wins over Iowa and Northwestern.