The college basketball season is less than a month old, but already Big Ten teams are 40-6 in non-conference play.

And while few Big Ten teams are off to rough starts, at least one - Minnesota - is acting like a surprise contender for the league title. Where do the Gophers fit in this week’s AnnArbor.com Big Ten power rankings? Check it out.

A reminder: Now that the season has started, these rankings reflect how a team is playing right now - not necessarily where they will finish the season.

Team (Record, Previous rank) 1)Ohio State (4-0, 2): The Buckeyes have the most impressive win of any team in the conference, easily handling Florida on the road, 93-75. Thad Matta has only gone seven-deep for the most part, but as he gains confidence in more of his young players, that number could reach eight or nine. Consider this - DeShaun Thomas, currently Ohio State’s No. 7 man, would start on many Big Ten teams.

2) Minnesota (5-0, 6): Minnesota went to Puerto Rico and came away from the tournament as champions, knocking off North Carolina and West Virginia along the way. The Gophers have depth and size in the frontcourt, a deadly shooter in Blake Hoffarber and a good point guard in Al Nolen.

3) Illinois (5-1, 4): Illinois may not have won the Preseason NIT (check tournament) but they played well against better-than-expected Texas and beat Maryland in the consolation game. Demetri McCamey is playing like every bit of an All-American point guard and the freshmen, especially Jereme Richmond, look good.

4) Michigan State (3-1, 3): The Spartans lost an early-season classic to Connecticut, 70-67, on Tuesday night in Maui, but there are concerns when watching them. They struggled for 30 minutes with Chaminade and point guard Kalin Lucas doesn’t look fully recovered from his Achillies' tendon injury.

5) Purdue (4-0, 1): The injury to Robbie Hummel has not hurt the Boilermakers so far, but it is still early. JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore are carrying Purdue.

6) Wisconsin (2-1, 5): As the Badgers learned, don’t doubt the talent in the Mountain West. The Badgers went to Las Vegas and lost on the road to UNLV in a somewhat surprising 68-65 loss. Jon Leuer and Co. now have good competition in Orlando at the Old Spice Classic, where they should come away with a minimum of two wins.

7) Michigan (3-0, 9): The Wolverines have looked better than expected, easily dispatching three inferior foes. Point guard Darius Morris and forward Jordan Morgan have been early surprises. The next three-game stretch will provide a better barometer with non-home games against Syracuse; Georgia Tech/UTEP and Clemson.

8) Indiana (5-0, 8): The Hoosiers are in the same situation as Michigan - a young team with potential. It’ll be another week at least before Indiana sees real competition against Boston College in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

9) Northwestern (3-0, 7): The Wildcats are scoring a lot - and getting killed on the boards. It is the rebounding question that is part of the reason why Northwestern, for now, is behind Michigan and Indiana. But games next week against Creighton and Georgia Tech will give a better idea of this team.

10) Penn State (4-0, 10): Penn State isn’t scoring well (69.3 ppg.) and isn’t shooting well (42.3 percent from the field). The Nittany Lions may have a nice win over rebuilding St. Joseph’s but have looked unimpressive throughout. Two players - Jeff Brooks (17 ppg.) and Talor Battle (16.3 ppg.) - account for almost half of their scoring.

11) Iowa (2-3, 11): This could be the landing spot for the Hawkeyes all year. Fran McCaffery’s young group has lost to South Dakota State, 79-69, and Long Beach State, 78-72.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein