It was a great week of Big Ten play, featuring upsets and marquee battles. The most significant games involved Michigan and Nebraska. Of course, it all led to a shakeup in these Rankings.
So, let’s jump
into this week’s Power Rankings.
Big Ten Week 10 Power Rankings
#1 – Purdue Boilermakers (+1)
The Boilermakers had another productive week, beating Washington at home on Wednesday and Penn State at home on Saturday. Purdue controlled both games and certainly deserved to win, but they were a tad closer than most expected heading into tip, being decided by single-digits at the final buzzer. Nonetheless, the wins pushed Purdue to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten play. The team has now won seven straight.
Through 16 games, Boilermaker fans have to be feeling great about where things stand. Purdue is now tied atop the conference standings with Nebraska following Michigan’s loss on Saturday and has a favorable path upcoming, at least compared to the Wolverines. Michigan and Purdue will only face off once in conference play and it’s in West Lafayette on February 17th. More simply stated, if Purdue simply wins that game at home, it now has a two-game head start on Michigan. Fans have to feel great about that after how things were looking a few weeks ago.
Purdue will get two tests this week, with Iowa at home on Wednesday and USC on the road on Saturday. The Hawks are playing really well so far this season and a trip out west to face the Trojans won’t be easy.
#2 – Nebraska Cornhuskers (+1)
The Huskers entered the week with two tough games on the docket and many thinking this would be the time when Nebraska finally slipped up and lost its first game. However, Fred Hoiberg and company had other thoughts, beating Ohio State on the road on Monday and Indiana on the road on Saturday. Each game took some heroic efforts to come out on top, as Nebraska only beat the Buckeyes by a possession and fell into a deficit against the Hoosiers on Saturday. The wins pushed Nebraska to 16-0 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten play.
We wrote this last week, but will state it yet again here — doubt Nebraska at your own peril. While the advanced numbers still don’t love the Huskers, this is a team that just keeps winning. So far, it hasn’t mattered where the game has happened or the opponent, Nebraska just keeps finding ways to get the job done. And we’re far too deep into the season for this to be a “fluke” scenario — the Huskers are simply a good team and the group is likely to do some big things in March.
The only immediate question for Nebraska is how long the team can stay undefeated. Fortunately, things look favorable for the coming week, with Oregon at home on Tuesday and Northwestern on the road on Saturday. KenPom favors the Huskers in both games.
#3 – Michigan Wolverines (-2)
The Wolverines had a disappointing week of action. Michigan opened the week with a tight win at Penn State on Tuesday and followed it up with a loss to Wisconsin at home on Saturday. The split left Michigan sitting at 14-1 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play. While always unrealistic, the loss snapped Wolverine fans’ hopes of a perfect season, which were getting realistic enough on the advanced analytics sites to warrant at least some discussion.
Generally speaking, a 14-1 start is nothing to complain about and it’s hard to imagine too many Wolverine fans disappointed about the team’s start. Even if the Wisconsin loss was unexpected, losing to a top 40 opponent is nothing to be embarrassed about — the Badgers are likely an NCAA team and could be better if the group continues building momentum.
However, it’s more of the way Michigan played last week that has fans frustrated. The team needed some late game heroics to beat a struggling Penn State team on Tuesday and got shredded defensively in Saturday’s loss to the Badgers. Michigan had significant trouble sticking with Wisconsin’s pick and pop game and its ball screen attack. Those are issues that will reappear if May and his staff can’t gets things turned around.
Michigan will now prepare for a road trip west, with Washington on the road on Wednesday and Oregon on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Wolverines are solid favorites in both games, but a trip west is never easy.
#4 – Illinois Fighting Illini (—)
The Illini had a great week of play, taking down Rutgers at home on Thursday and beating Iowa on the road on Sunday. The latter win was particularly impressive, given how the Hawkeyes have played so far. The wins pushed Illinois to 13-3 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play. The group remains a safe bet for the NCAA Tournament. The big question is whether Illinois can do enough to get back in the Big Ten title picture.
Illinois will get two favorable matchups this week, with Northwestern on the road on Wednesday and Minnesota at home on Saturday. Both opponents are capable of beating Illinois, but neither is good enough to be favored heading into tip. Grabbing two wins would certainly keep Illinois in the Big Ten picture.
#5 – Michigan State Spartans (—)
The Spartans swept the team’s games last week, beating USC at home in blowout fashion on Monday and following it up with a 10-point win over Northwestern at home on Thursday. The wins pushed Michigan State to 14-2 overall, 4-1 in Big Ten play, and up three spots on KenPom to 13th nationally.
Michigan State remains just a game out of first place in the Big Ten race and will get two opportunities to add wins this week, with Indiana at home on Tuesday and Washington on the road on Saturday. KenPom favors the Spartans in both games.
#6 – Indiana Hoosiers (+1)
The Hoosiers had mixed results last week. While Indiana took care of business against Maryland on the road on Wednesday, the team fell flat against Nebraska at home on Saturday. Indiana was in position to win that one for roughly the first 25 minutes, but had a poor close to the game, allowing the Huskers to escape with a win. The split left Indiana sitting at 12-4 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play.
Indiana remains on the right side of most NCAA projections following last week’s results. TRank has the Hoosiers around an eight seed in its latest projections and that feels about right. However, that’s far from comfortable and will make every game important moving forward. Indiana will get Michigan State on the road on Tuesday and Iowa at home on Saturday. Splitting would be a good goal.
#7 – Iowa Hawkeyes (-1)
The Hawkeyes had a rough week, falling on the road to Minnesota on Tuesday and at home against Illinois on Sunday. While a sweep was always going to be tough, fans were certainly hoping for at least a split. Unfortunately, Iowa just couldn’t get enough stops to grab a win against the Gophers or the Illini. The losses left Iowa sitting at 12-4 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play.
Iowa remains on the right side of the NCAA bubble. However, things are going to be tough this week, with Purdue on the road on Wednesday and Indiana on the road on Saturday. KenPom has the Hawks as underdogs in both games, so even a split would be a respectable result.
#8 – Wisconsin Badgers (+4)
The Badgers had the team’s best week of the season, taking care of UCLA at home on Tuesday and following it up with a massive upset against Michigan on the road on Saturday. The latter is arguably the best win any team in the country has on its resume to date. Wisconsin’s offense played exceptionally in the game, finishing with 1.26 points per possession against arguably the nation’s best defensive unit. The wins left Wisconsin sitting at 11-5 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play.
Obviously, Badger fans have to be feeling great about the team after last week’s performance. Scoring two wins against top 40 opponents would be great by itself, but grabbing one on the road against a team like Michigan, who has been obliterating opponents so far this season, is a different thing entirely. Wisconsin also appears to be building momentum, having now won four of its last five games dating back to mid-December. If the team can carry that into the next few weeks, it could really solidify its NCAA positioning.
This week, Wisconsin will get two winnable games, with arch-rival Minnesota on the road on Tuesday and Rutgers at home on Saturday. KenPom favors the Badgers in both games.
#9 – USC Trojans (-1)
The Trojans split the team’s games last week. USC fell in blowout fashion on the road against Michigan State on Monday, but got back on track against Minnesota on the road on Friday. Although the game ended up going to overtime, USC found a way to get the job done. The mixed results left USC sitting at 13-3 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play. Notably, the team has won five straight against opponents outside of road games against top 15 KenPom teams and remains unblemished against opponents rated outside the top 51 on the site.
USC will get quite a home stand this week, with Maryland at home on Tuesday and Purdue at home on Saturday. KenPom projects a split. However, if the Trojans can find a way to sweep, it would be massive for the team’s postseason hopes.
#10 – UCLA Bruins (—)
The Bruins went 1-1 last week, falling to Wisconsin on the road on Tuesday and rebounding with a double-digit win over Maryland on Saturday. The results left UCLA sitting at 11-5 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play. It was a relatively disappointing performance, though that Wisconsin loss is looking a bit better in light of the Badgers’ win over Michigan on Saturday.
UCLA will try and avoid more road missteps this week, with Penn State on the road on Wednesday and Ohio State on the road on Saturday. KenPom projects a split.
#11 – Ohio State Buckeyes (-2)
The Buckeyes had a relatively disappointing week. The team opened things up with a loss to Nebraska at home on Monday, rebounded with a road win against Oregon on Thursday, but fell flat in the followup on the road against Washington on Sunday. The results left Ohio State sitting at 11-5 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play. Notably, Ohio State hasn’t beaten a top 75 KenPom opponent since December 13th, which is obviously concerning considering most of the Big Ten ranks well above that.
Ohio State will get most of the week off to recover from its trip out west before returning to action on Saturday at home against UCLA. KenPom favors the Bucks.
#12 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (-1)
The Gophers had mixed results, taking out Iowa at home on Tuesday, but falling to USC at home on Friday. Both games ended up coming down to a single possession, so it probably makes sense to see a split. However, Gopher fans have to be frustrated with Friday’s result, as Minnesota was in position to win at home against the Trojans and simply couldn’t close the deal. The split left the team sitting at 10-6 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play.
Minnesota will get two challenging games this week, with arch-rival Wisconsin at home on Tuesday and Illinois on the road on Saturday. If the Gophers simply find a way to split those games, it would be a decent result.
#13 – Washington Huskies (+2)
The Huskies performed adequately this week. While the team fell on the road to Purdue on Wednesday, it rebounded with a huge win over Ohio State on Sunday at home. The split left Washington sitting at 10-6 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play. Washington will return to action with two huge games on the docket. The Huskies will get Michigan at home on Wednesday and Michigan State at home on Saturday. A win in either game would massively boost the team’s hopes.
#14 – Oregon Ducks (-3)
The Ducks lost both of the team’s games last week, falling to Rutgers on the road on Monday and against Ohio State at home on Thursday. The losses left Oregon sitting at 8-8 overall and 1-4 in Big Ten play. The loss to the Scarlet Knights was particularly rough, given Rutgers’ horrendous start to the season.
Unfortunately, last week’s losses likely end any realistic hope Duck fans had of making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large squad. The team is now just .500 through roughly half the season and has an incredibly uphill battle moving forward. For perspective, TRank doesn’t even have Oregon on its board for the Big Dance anymore and the site includes the first 64 teams projected to miss the field. Unfortunately, it’s just reality at this point.
Perhaps the one bit of positive news is that Oregon has some massive opportunities ahead of it, with Nebraska on the road on Tuesday and Michigan at home on Saturday. Either win would immediately inject some energy into the team’s season. However, both project as uphill battles.
#15 – Northwestern Wildcats (-1)
The Wildcats continued sliding this week, falling on the road to Michigan State on Thursday and letting a winnable game slip away against Rutgers in overtime on Sunday. The losses dropped Northwestern to 8-8 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten play. The team is also down to 60th on KenPom, which is a 20-spot drop from where the Wildcats were in November. The group has now lost four of its last five games.
Northwestern is technically still a viable NCAA Tournament at-large candidate, but that dream only remains alive by the narrowest of margins. If the Wildcats are going to make a postseason push, the team’s skid needs to stop. Unfortunately, that’s going to be quite a task with a brutal slate on the docket. Northwestern gets rival Illinois at home on Wednesday and an undefeated Nebraska at home on Saturday.
#16 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights (+2)
The Scarlet Knights went 2-1 in the team’s games last week, beating Oregon at home on Monday, falling on the road against Illinois on Thursday, and rebounding with a win at home against Northwestern on Sunday. The mixed results left Rutgers sitting at 9-8 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play. The team will now get most of the week off before facing Wisconsin on the road on Saturday.
#17 – Penn State Nittany Lions (—)
The Nittany Lions went 0-2 last week, falling to Michigan at home on Tuesday and on the road against Purdue on Saturday. However, Penn State played relatively well in the games, despite two losses. The team now sits at 9-6 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten play with the losses. Penn State will return to action this week against UCLA at home on Wednesday and Maryland on the road on Sunday.
#18 – Maryland Terrapins (-2)
The Terrapins lost both of the team’s games last week, falling to Indiana at home on Wednesday and on the road against UCLA on Saturday. Both losses were by double-digits. Maryland now sits at 7-9 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten play. The team will try and rebound against USC on the road on Tuesday and Penn State at home on Sunday. KenPom favors the Terps against the Nittany Lions, though only narrowly.
