Ohio State is still dominant — but the gap in the Big Ten is closing.

Many thought before the season that Purdue would be the best basketball team in the league and perhaps the country. It had three top-level stars returning in JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel.

Then Hummel got hurt. Expectations dropped. But maybe they shouldn't have. Purdue is performing at a high level with just an early-season hiccup against Richmond.

The Boilermakers aren't the top team in the league yet, but they are making it interesting. Where does your team rank? Click the jump.

1) Ohio State (15-0, 2-0, 1): The Buckeyes had a small scare at Iowa on Tuesday before pulling away in the second half thanks to super frosh Jared Sullinger. As the only undefeated team in the league, Ohio State still holds on to the top spot.

2) Purdue (14-1, 3-0, 2): Purdue continues to show it is a contender both in the Big Ten and nationally. In its three Big Ten games, it has beaten each opponent by at least 13 points (82-69 vs. Northwestern). The Boilermakers’ brutal stretch starts Jan. 13, when they go to Minnesota then to West Virginia, has Penn State and Michigan State at home before going to Ohio State.

3) Illinois (12-3, 2-0, 6): Demetri McCamey appears to have settled his team down as the Illini took care of Wisconsin on Sunday after winning at better-than-expected Iowa. McCamey is shooting 52.2 percent from the 3-point line.

4) Michigan State (10-4, 2-0, 5): MSU almost gave up a lead at Northwestern on Monday night before hanging on, 65-62, but the Spartans may have started to find what they were missing as they also knocked off a suddenly struggling Minnesota. Tuesday could be good gauge where the Spartans are as they play host to Wisconsin.

5) Wisconsin (12-3, 2-1, 3): If Wisconsin gets the effort it did out of Jordan Taylor (20 points, 8 rebounds) and Keaton Nankivil (13 points) to go along with the All-American play of Jon Leuer like it did in a 66-50 win over Michigan on Wednesday, then the Badgers are going to be a tough matchup every night.

6) Minnesota (12-3, 1-2, 4): Tubby Smith’s crew is in the midst of a grinding beginning of the league schedule. The Gophers lost at Wisconsin (68-60) and at Michigan State (71-62), the two hardest places to play in the league and still have to go to Ohio State on Sunday and then play Purdue at home on Jan. 13 before a let-up against Iowa. Losing Devoe Joseph to transfer also hurts the Gophers’ depth.

7) Northwestern (9-3, 0-2, 7): It’s tough to get a gauge on exactly what Bill Carmody has. The Wildcats were never in the game in a 82-69 loss at Purdue. Then they almost came back from down double-digits to beat Michigan State. Northwestern will struggle against the top tier in the league. The real idea will be starting Sunday when they have an Indiana-Iowa swing it should sweep.

8) Michigan (11-4, 1-2, 9): The Wolverines showed poise in pulling away against Penn State to win at home. They also looked like what a good John Beilein team looks like against Wisconsin on the road Wednesday but couldn’t sustain it. The stretch gets harder. No. 3 Kansas and No. 2 Ohio State loom in the next week at Crisler Arena.

9) Penn State (8-6, 1-2, 8): The Nittany Lions have lost two straight, but considering the second one was to JaJuan Johnson/E’Twaun Moore-led Purdue, it isn’t surprising. Good chance PSU drops to 1-6 (MSU, Illinois, at Ohio State, at Purdue) before it plays Iowa on Jan. 26.

10) Iowa (7-7, 0-2, 10): The Hawkeyes aren’t winning yet under Fran McCaffery, but they are playing more competitive basketball than people thought. Iowa was the first team this year to play Ohio State within 10 points (73-68) and played tough against Illinois. By the end of the year, the Hawkeyes are going to beat some teams, which should concern Northwestern, Michigan, Penn State and Indiana.

11) Indiana (9-7, 0-2, 11): The wheels might be off in Bloomington. Tom Crean’s team was supposed to be improved this year. Instead, the Hoosiers have lost five straight and have three of the next four on the road (with Michigan at home on Jan. 15 in the middle). This could be an ugly season for Indiana.

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