Thought I'd look at the ratings of teams we face, especially our BIG rivals. It's early, but I think this offers some perspective. I've taken an average margin for Sagarin's and KenPom's ratings to say whether we would be favored or underdogs relative to the teams on our schedule, on a neutral site.
Favored by x points, over
1 Wisconsin
2 Iowa
4 Minney
7 Rutgers
8 NW
11 Nebraska
Underdogs by x points
2 Indiana
2 Penn State
3 Purdue
3 Michigan
5 Maryland
8 tOSU
9 MSU
Others
1 over Mizzou (not really neutral though)
8 over Miami
The early returns would say we're in the middle of the conference, in a fairly large group. No one looks unbeatable. Other than Nebraska being awful, the conference looks reasonable. Obviously MSU is looking weak in the early going, as they often do. It wouldln't surprise me if home court was more important than in year's past.