About halfway through the season and less than two months away from the NCAAs, the Big Ten is panning out to be the best conference in college wrestling. With three teams in the nation’s top five and nine teams in the Top-17, the conference is proving just how powerful it really is on the wrestling scene. As the season hits the backstretch, here is how the teams stack up.

1. Penn State

Halfway through January, the Nittany Lions are still undefeated — but that’s expected. Cael Sanderson’s squad is ranked No. 2 in the country and will compete for a national title when the time comes. Defending national champion Zain Retherford and Jason Nolf, ranked No. 1 at 149 pounds and 157 pounds, will lead Penn State in St. Louis come the NCAAs.

2. Iowa

Despite no longer being undefeated, Iowa is next in line in the Big Ten. Had things gone Iowa’s way in the 133 and 149 matches during the dual against Oklahoma State, the conference would have seen a team that could compete with, or even beat, the No. 1 team in the country. No. 1 Thomas Gilman and No. 3s Cory Clark, Brandon Sorensen and Michael Kemerer aim to make some noise in the postseason.

3. Ohio State

With solid wins over Illinois and Wisconsin, the Buckeyes will get their first taste of top-10 action when they go into battle against Iowa in Iowa City on Jan. 27. While the No. 4 team in the country has plenty of ranked talent, it needs No. 1 174-pounder Bo Jordan and heavyweight Kyle Snyder to lead it.

4. Nebraska

At the 54th Midlands, Nebraska had five grapplers in the finals in their respective weight classes. Three ended up picking up first place. The squad’s only loss is to Penn State this season, but it will be challenged in early February, when it will take on Ohio State and Iowa in a three-day stretch.

5. Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights have a 3-point win over a Princeton team that has yet to find its groove because of a tough schedule, but they also have a third-place Midlands finish and a good win over Illinois to give them a leg up.

6. Illinois

Even though Illinois doesn’t have a really impressive win this season, one thing is for sure: Isaiah Martinez is good. A back-to-back national champion, Martinez was the Midlands champion at 165 pounds.

7. Minnesota

Outside of a 34-3 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma State and a 33-6 loss to No. 2 Penn State, the Gophers have not had a bad season. Even though it only has a 3-point win over 4-7 Michigan State, the squad also has an important win over No. 16 Michigan.

8. Michigan

The Wolverines have losses against ranked Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. Lucky for Michigan, it has freshman sensation Logan Massa at 165 pounds. The No. 2 wrestler in the country at that weight is 18-0 this season.

9. Wisconsin

Wisconsin is ranked No. 9 in these power rankings not because it’s a bad team but because the Big Ten is really good. The Badgers have the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the country in Connor Medbery, who has the potential to do some big things in the postseason.

10. Purdue

Even though the Boilermakers aren’t ranked in the Top 25, they still have a 8-3 record, 3-2 in the Big Ten. However, a lot of that could be traced to the team’s strength of schedule.

11. Indiana

So far this season, the Hoosiers have taken part in numerous close battles. Indiana lost by 1 to both Cal-Poly and Wisconsin, along with a 1-point win over North Dakota State. Besides the North Dakota State and Wisconsin duals, the Hoosiers have not had much competition.

12. Northwestern

The hosts of the Midlands Championships have wrestled two ranked teams this season and lost both. The Wildcats have not shown an ability to compete with the best, demonstrated by a 43-3 shellacking from No. 4 Ohio State.

13. Michigan State

Michigan State doesn’t have much going for it. But it does have wins over Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Maryland — not that that’s saying much.

14. Maryland