As conference play inches closer, the Big Ten continues to shine as one of the best in college basketball coming off a third consecutive win in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.

There are still three undefeated teams in the conference with a big matchup between two of them coming on Friday night.

The Iowa Hawkeyes remain dominant with a 7-0 record as they are starting to build a resume worthy of a top-25 ranking.

This week saw the Hawkeyes end up as winners in their ACC matchup, beating a NCAA Tournament regular in Virginia by one point.

Senior guard Jordan Bohannon put up a season high 20 points in the win, while sophomore forward Keegan Murray added 18 points of his own.

They’ll travel to Mackey Arena to take on No. 2 Purdue who also enters the matchup with a 7-0 record.

Things were a bit easier for the Boilermakers this week as they dominated in their win over Florida State with a 93-65 victory against the now 5-2 Seminoles.

Scoring was balanced for the Boilermakers in the win, as sophomore guard Jaden Ivey led the way with an efficient 18 points.

Looking elsewhere around the conference, Minnesota is the only other team that enters Friday with an undefeated record at 6-0 after finishing last season second to last in the Big Ten.

That record was tested on Tuesday where the Golden Gophers edged out a one-point win on the road against Pittsburgh.

In the 54-53 victory, sophomore forward Jamison Battle led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds.

The Golden Gophers will face a tough three-game slate next week as they have another non-conference matchup against Mississippi State before facing two ranked conference opponents in Michigan State and Michigan.

Looking at the ranked teams in the Big Ten, No. 22 Michigan State cruised to a win in its last matchup against Lousiville with a 73-64 score.

The Spartans moved up to 6-2 on the young season with the team's leading scorer coming off the bench as junior forward Malik Hall dropped 15 points.

Elsewhere, the No. 23 Wisconsin Badgers picked up a win in a close battle with Georgia Tech.

Senior guard Brad Davison shined in the 70-66 victory with 27 points as he picked up a new season high.

Rounding things out, the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines have endured a tough start to the season and may have hit a new low with a 72-51 blowout loss against UNC.

The Wolverines were only down by two points at half before the Tarheels hit a new gear once both sides came back out of the locker rooms.

Wednesday’s loss was the biggest margin of the season for the Wolverines, who are now 4-3 after starting out last season on an 11-game winning streak.

Logan Bourandas is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.