Big Ten basketball power rankings: Michigan still on top, Illinois rising, others falling

Michigan Wolverines basketball just notched two top-10 wins last week and still remains atop the Big Ten power rankings for this edition. Here’s our ranking of the conference 1-18.

1. Michigan (20-1 overall, 10-1 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 1st (—)
Last week: vs. Nebraska (W, 75-72), at Michigan State (W, 83-71)
This week: vs. Penn State (Thursday), at Ohio State (Sunday)

Michigan notched two of the best wins in college basketball last week, a pair of top-10 victories that lifted it back up to the No. 1 spot on both KenPom and in the NET. The Wolverines still have only one loss, and it took Wisconsin 15 threes to win by only three points at Crisler Center.

2. Illinois (19-3 overall, 10-1 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 4th (+2)
Last week: vs. Washington (W, 75-66), at Nebraska (W, 78-69)
This week: vs. Northwestern (Wednesday), at Michigan State (Saturday)

It’s no longer quiet: Illinois is on the rise and establishing itself as one of the best teams in the nation. The Fighting Illini have won 11-straight games, with two of the last three coming on the road over top-12 teams in Purdue and Nebraska.

Freshman point guard Keaton Wagler is a superstar, having scored 46, 22 and 28 points with a total of 15 made threes in the last three contests.

3. Nebraska (20-2 overall, 9-2 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 2nd (-1)
Last week: at Michigan (L, 75-72), vs. Illinois (L, 78-69)
This week: at Rutgers (Saturday)

Nebraska was shorthanded at Michigan, without its best player in Rienk Mast (illness) and third-leading scorer in Braden Frager (ankle), but led for over 35 minutes before running out of gas in a hard-fought loss. The Cornhuskers got both players back for the home game against Illinois Sunday, but Mast wasn’t 100 percent and scored only 5 points.

4. Michigan State (19-2 overall, 9-2 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 3rd (-1)
Last week: at Rutgers (W, 88-79 in OT), vs. Michigan (L, 83-71)
This week: at Minnesota (Wednesday), vs. Illinois (Saturday)

Michigan State went 1-1 last week, but it easily could’ve been an 0-2 stretch. Rutgers played well, MSU battled first-half foul trouble and was probably looking ahead to its biggest rival, Michigan. The Spartans were out-classed by the Wolverines on their home floor — something that doesn’t happen very often — and that was only their second loss at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center since February 2024. There’s no shame in losing to a better team, though, so it’s not like MSU is nose-diving in the power rankings this week.

5. Purdue (18-4 overall, 8-3 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 5th (—)
Last week: at Indiana (L, 72-67), at Maryland (W, 93-63)
This week: vs. Oregon (Saturday)

Purdue lost three-straight games (UCLA, Illinois, Indiana) in late-February, and the defense went down the drain. In those three games, opponents shot 60.6 percent on twos and 42.9 percent on threes. The Boilermakers have had the look of a contender all season, but have fallen behind the eight-ball in the conference race, sitting here with three losses. Having Maryland coming off a losing streak is a nice remedy, and the Boilermakers took their frustrations out on the Terrapins with a 30-point victory Sunday.

6. Iowa (16-5 overall, 6-4 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 8th (+2)
Last week: vs. USC (W, 73-72), at Oregon (W, 84-66)
This week: at Washington (Wednesday), vs. Northwestern (Sunday)

Iowa is really defending, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in adjusted defensive efficiency during league play, and forcing opponents to play at a snail’s pace. The Hawkeyes don’t have the front court horses but will force opponents into dogfights each night. They’ve won four games in a row and have one more tilt on the West Coast before returning home.

7. Indiana (15-7 overall, 6-5 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 9th (+2)
Last week: vs. Purdue (W, 72-67), at UCLA (W, 98-97 in 2OT)
This week: at USC (Tuesday), vs. Wisconsin (Saturday)

What a week for Indiana. The Hoosiers honored the national championship-winning football team during the win over Purdue, and then went out West to beat UCLA in double-overtime. Indiana has won three-straight games after a four-game skid that featured a ridiculously tough schedule (Nebraska, MSU, Iowa, Michigan).

8. Wisconsin (16-6 overall, 8-3 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 6th (-2)
Last week: vs. Minnesota (W, 67-63), vs. Ohio State (W, 92-82)
This week: at Indiana (Saturday)

Somehow, Wisconsin came out of last week 2-0 and has won seven of its last eight contests. The Badgers were down by as many as 20 to Minnesota but came back, and got off to a slow start, trailing 15-4, versus Ohio State. The Badgers are a tough team to guard from beyond the arc. Just ask Michigan (15 threes) and Minnesota (16).

9. UCLA (15-7 overall, 7-4 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 7th (-2)
Last week: at Oregon (W, 73-57), vs. Indiana (L, 98-97 in 2OT)
This week: vs. Rutgers (Tuesday), vs. Washington (Saturday)

UCLA has a win over Purdue on its resumé, but not much else of note. The Bruins came back down 10 points late in the second half to force double-overtime against Indiana but couldn’t come out on top at Pauley Pavilion. Head coach Mick Cronin and Co. were on the receiving end of a questionable call (and lost challenge) with 1.5 seconds to go, but the coach was also disappointed with his team’s inability to score for long stretches and overall defense.

10. Washington (12-10 overall, 4-7 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 10th (—)
Last week: at Illinois (L, 75-66), at Northwestern (W, 76-62)
This week: vs. Iowa (Wednesday), at UCLA (Saturday)

It’s been a weird year for Danny Sprinkle and Washington, dealing with injuries and attempting to figure out an identity. They battled hard in the first half at Illinois and then got a win in the same state later in the week. The Huskies had a front-loaded Big Ten schedule, so it wouldn’t surprise to see them stack some wins in February.

11. Ohio State (14-7 overall, 6-5 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 12th (—)
Last week: vs. Penn State (W, 84-78), at Wisconsin (L, 92-82)
This week: at Maryland (Thursday), vs. Michigan (Sunday)

Ohio State has been on the bubble for two seasons, and missed the NCAA Tournament last year. The Buckeyes are bound to remain squarely on it the remainder of this season with the way they’re playing. This is a dangerous team offensively, with a lot of talent in the back court, but can’t consistently get stops. They allowed Wisconsin to score over 1.3 points per play Saturday.

12. USC (16-6 overall, 5-6 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 11th (—)
Last week: at Iowa (L, 73-72), vs. Rutgers (W, 78-75)
This week: vs. Indiana (Tuesday), at Penn State (Sunday)

Hello, Kam Woods. After scoring 25 points in his first eight games, the fifth-year senior guard exploded for 33 in a loss to Iowa. The Trojans came all the way back and then gave the game away with a dumb foul at the end, up one point with the Hawkeyes holding possession with a last-shot opportunity. They were one stop away and didn’t even give themselves a chance.

The Trojans aren’t as good as their overall record indicates, and are still searching for a marquee win other than a two-point edging of Wisconsin in Madison Jan. 25.

13. Rutgers (9-13 overall, 2-9 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 14th (+1)
Last week: vs. Michigan State (L, 88-79 in OT), at USC (L, 78-75)
This week: at UCLA (Tuesday), vs. Nebraska (Saturday)

Rutgers has lot five-consecutive games with more likely on the way this week. However, we came out of the 0-2 week more impressed than before. Steve Pikiell‘s group is making strides, nearly knocking off the Spartans and paying tight at UCLA. That’s enough to move them ahead of Minnesota, which is in a tailspin despite keeping it close in a lot of game. In the end, though, will Rutgers be able to get enough stops or rebounds to beat anybody of note? We’re splitting hairs.

14. Minnesota (10-12 overall, 3-8 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 13th (-1)
Last week: at Wisconsin (L, 67-63), at Penn State (L, 77-75)
This week: vs. Michigan State (Wednesday), vs. Maryland (Sunday)

Minnesota has been the best team right around .500 in the Big Ten, but losing at Penn State is a black mark on the schedule. The Golden Gophers shot 20-of-24 from inside the arc but couldn’t get enough stops and hardly led.

15. Oregon (8-14 overall, 1-10 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 15th
Last week: vs. UCLA (L, 73-57), vs. Iowa (L, 84-66)
This week: at Purdue (Saturday)

Oregon is still without its two best players to injury in guard Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle, and essentially dead until they return. The Ducks are losers of eight-straight games and have only one win over a high-major team, the worst team in the Big Ten, Maryland.

16. Northwestern (10-12 overall, 2-9 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 16th (—)
Last week: vs. Penn State (W, 94-73), vs. Washington (L, 76-62)
This week: at Illinois (Wednesday), at Iowa (Sunday)

The Wildcats have Nick Martinelli and that’s about it. He’s averaging more than double the amount of points (23.7) than the next-best player on the team (11.7).

17. Penn State (10-12 overall, 1-10 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 18th (+1)
Last week: at Ohio State (L, 84-78), at Northwestern (L, 94-73), vs. Minnesota (W, 77-75)
This week: at Michigan (Thursday), vs. USC (Sunday)

Penn State finally won a game for the first time since Dec. 29, beating Minnesota in Happy Valley.

18. Maryland (8-13 overall, 1-9 Big Ten)

Previous ranking: 17th (-1)
Last week: vs. Purdue (L, 93-63)
This week: vs. Ohio State (Thursday), at Minnesota (Sunday)

Maryland has lost its last three games by an average of 30.7 points, but those were tough matchups against Illinois, Michigan State and Purdue. The Terrapins have only one win over high-major opponents, a blowout beating of Penn State in College Park behind hot shooting from Diggy Coit.