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USA TODAY Big Ten women’s basketball power rankings with conference play underway

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USA TODAY Big Ten women’s basketball power rankings with conference play underway

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We’ve reached another round of Big Ten women’s basketball power rankings.

Conference-play cameos began last weekend and will continue this coming weekend, with all teams getting at least one Big Ten game in before briefly jumping back into non-conference play. Here are the latest USA TODAY Sports Network power rankings.

1. UCLA (9-0)

Previously: No. 1

What to know: No trouble for the Bruins recently, winning road games at Hawaii and Washington to open conference play.

2. USC (9-1)

Previously: No. 2

What to know: JuJu Watkins and the Trojans are back on track and dominating, having recently picked up wins over California Baptist, Oregon and Fresno State.

3. Maryland (10-0)

Previously: No. 3

What to know: Maryland kicked off conference play with a road win over Purdue to go with victories over Toledo and Mount St. Mary’s since the last rankings.

4. Ohio State (9-0)

Previously: No. 4

What to know: A home win over Illinois got Ohio State off on the right foot in Big Ten play, followed by a Ball State drubbing earlier this week.

5. Iowa (9-1)

Previously: No. 5

What to know: The Hawkeyes took their first stumble last Saturday against Tennessee, but Iowa rebounded emphatically with a key rivalry win over Iowa State.

6. Michigan State (9-0)

Previously: No. 6

What to know: A cruise-control win over DePaul last Sunday has Michigan State ready to roll for this weekend’s Big Ten opener vs. Iowa.

7. Michigan (8-1)

Previously: No. 11

What to know: Michigan has things more than stabilized after its opening-night loss to South Carolina. The Wolverines have won nine in a row, most recently toppling Northwestern in their Big Ten opener.

8. Nebraska (9-1)

Previously: No. 8

What to know: Nebraska had no trouble with Minnesota or Tarleton State this past week.

9. Illinois (7-2)

Previously: No. 7

What to know: Illinois couldn’t quite hang with Ohio State in Sunday’s conference-opening loss.

10. Indiana (7-3)

Previously: No. 13

What to know: A road rout over Penn State is exactly what Indiana needed to begin Big Ten play.

11. Minnesota (11-1)

Previously: No. 9

What to know: Minnesota’s first real challenge didn’t go well in a blowout road loss at Nebraska.

12. Oregon (7-3)

Previously: No. 10

What to know: Oregon has come back to reality with three losses in its last four following a 6-0 start. Oregon fell to USC in its first-ever Big Ten game.

13. Penn State (9-2)

Previously: No. 12

What to know: A road win over Providence mitigated some of the damage from Penn State’s conference-opening loss to Indiana.

14. Wisconsin (9-2)

Previously: No. 14

What to know: For once, Wisconsin is trending in the right direction as December hits the midway point. The Badgers picked up recent wins over Rutgers and Butler.

15. Washington (7-3)

Previously: No. 15

What to know: The Huskies couldn’t hang with UCLA in their first-ever Big Ten game.

16. Purdue (5-4)

Previously: No. 16

What to know: Purdue kept it respectable but ultimately couldn’t hang with Maryland in its Big Ten opener.

17. Rutgers (6-4)

Previously: No. 17

What to know: Rutgers has dropped five of six after a 4-0 start, its most recent stumble coming last Sunday at Wisconsin.

18. Northwestern (4-4)

Previously: No. 18

What to know: The Wildcats kept it somewhat close at Michigan but couldn’t come away with a needed upset.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

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