Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games marked the end of non-conference play for many Big Ten members. With the holiday break looming, let’s run down who has been naughty and nice.

The start of the Big Ten men’s hoops season is just around the corner. Next Tuesday, in fact, Minnesota-Illinois (BTN) and Wisconsin-Nebraska tip off the conference slate. With the holiday break here, BTN.com web editor Brent Yarina decided to release his latest Big Ten Player Rankings.

Illinois once again put on a dismal offensive display against Cornell. Things started out well, with Bruce Weber’s team taking a 10-3 lead out of the gate, but the offense completely fell apart from there. But we’ve seen numbers like this from Illinois before:

It’s time to release my latest Big Ten men’s hoops power rankings. The rankings are not meant to mimic the Big Ten standings. What fun would that be? They aren’t scientific, either. They’re simply my thoughts on where each Big Ten team stands right now and who would win on a neutral court. Agree? Disagree? Tweet @BTNBrentYarina or leave your comments below. See Brent’s rankings in this post. Also, watch our interview with Aaron Craft, whose Buckeyes host Lamar at 8:30 ET Tuesday on BTN.

Five Big Ten men’s basketball players have been named candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, handed out annually to the nation’s top collegiate point guard. The list includes Michigan’s Trey Burke, Ohio State’s Aaron Craft, Penn State’s Tim Frazier, Purdue’s Lewis Jackson and Wisconsin’s Jordan Taylor. See the complete list of candidates here.