The Big Ten had another great week of action, with a plethora of marquee matchups across the league. Some of the biggest involved the top half of the conference as well, including Illinois, Michigan, and Purdue. Of course, all those games also shook up these rankings as well.
So, let’s jump into this week’s Power Rankings.
Big Ten Week Two Power Rankings
#1 – Illinois Fighting Illini (+1)
The Illini had a fantastic week, beating a ranked Texas Tech squad at home on Tuesday and following it up with a blowout win over Colgate at home on Friday. The wins left Illinois
sitting at 4-0 and poised to move up considerably in these projections and the human polls.
While it’s too early to reach any massive conclusions, it’s hard to complain about much to do with the Illini through four games. The team has looked every bit the part of a Final Four squad. David Mirkovic and Zvonimir Ivisic look like monsters down low and Kyle Boswell is tearing it up in the backcourt as well. Brad Underwood and staff will have to mesh the rotations a bit more, but there’s plenty of time for that.
Illinois will now prepare for a monster matchup against Alabama in Chicago on Wednesday. It figures to be one of the team’s best resume building opportunities of non-conference play. The team will then host LIU at home on Saturday.
#2 – Purdue Boilermakers (+1)
The Boilermakers also had a great week of play, beating Alabama on the road on Thursday and following it up with a win over Akron on Sunday. The win over the Crimson Tide was particularly impressive, as Purdue showed its offensive capabilities in the win. In fact, the Boilers are now rated first nationally in offensive efficiency. The wins pushed the group to a perfect 4-0 on the season.
If there’s one thing to keep an eye on for Purdue, it’s on the defensive side of the court. The team is just 50th nationally in defensive efficiency and multiple opponents have already finished well above a point a possession so far this season. Neither of those stats are alarming by themselves, but they don’t leave a ton of margin of error for the offense, especially as the calendar rolls into 2026. We’ll see if Matt Painter can figure enough things out on that side of the floor to bump the group up a few spots. Even a modest jump would be massive for Purdue’s long-term prospects.
Purdue will now head to the Caribbean, as it opens up play in the Bahamas on Thursday. The Boilermakers will get Memphis in what should be a fun event.
#3 – Michigan Wolverines (-2)
The Wolverines had a stressful, but productive week, beating Wake Forest in overtime in Detroit on Tuesday and TCU on the road in another close game on Friday night. While both games were wins, Michigan didn’t look great in either game and was fortunate to escape with two wins. Still, the results left the team at 3-0.
The biggest uncertainty about Michigan’s team revolves around the use of its three big lineup, featuring Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson, and Aday Mara. All three are proven high-level contributors, but none have played in this manner before. We’ll see if Dusty May and the three players can figure it out. If Michigan is going to hit its long-term potential, it’s certainly going to need all three on the floor as much as possible.
Michigan will get a quiet slate this week, with just one game against Middle Tennessee at home on Wednesday. The Wolverines will then head to Vegas for its non-conference tournament the next week.
#4 – Michigan State Spartans (—)
The Spartans took care of San Jose State at home on Thursday in the team’s only game of the week. The win pushed Michigan State to 3-0 overall. The group will now prepare for a massive week of action, beginning with Kentucky in New York on Tuesday. The Spartans will then get Detroit Mercy at home on Friday. Two wins would massively boost Michigan State’s perception and hopes for March.
#5 – Wisconsin Badgers (—)
The Badgers won the team’s only game last week, beating Ball State at home on Tuesday. The win came by 31 points and Wisconsin has largely looked the part of a top 20 team so far. The team will now prepare for SIUE at home on Monday and then against BYU in Salt Lake City on Friday. The latter should be quite a challenging game and KenPom has the Badgers as underdogs.
#6 – USC Trojans (—)
The Trojans knocked off Illinois State in Inglewood for the team’s lone game last week. It was a sneakily important game, as the Redbirds entered just outside the top 100 on KenPom. Nonetheless, USC won by 20 points, thanks in large part to 21 points from Rodney Rice. The team will now prepare for Troy on Thursday at home, who’s similarly ranked to Illinois State. It figures to be another solid test for the Trojans.
#7 – Indiana Hoosiers (—)
The Hoosiers improved to 4-0 last week, taking care of business against Milwaukee and Incarnate Word at home. Neither game was particularly competitive. Indiana will now get a few days off before hosting Lindenwood at home on Thursday. It figures to be one of the team’s last tune ups of the season.
#8 – Ohio State Buckeyes (+1)
The Buckeyes had a solid performance this week, taking care of Appalachian State at home on Tuesday and holding off Notre Dame at home on Sunday. The latter game was an absolute battle, with things swinging back and forth throughout. The wins left Ohio State at 4-0 overall.
Through four games, it’s hard to get a read on this Buckeye squad. On the one hand, Ohio State is undefeated and the group already has at least one solid win over the Irish. However, on the other side, the team has slipped nine spots on KenPom since the season began and it’s had defensive struggles, including the 102 points given up to IU Indy in the season opener. The defense certainly seemed better against Notre Dame, but that was also a tight game at home against a team rated 60th on KenPom, nearly 30 spots lower than Ohio State.
All told, it’s hard to find any trends for Ohio State so far, save for Bruce Thornton, who’s playing at an exceptional level. The team will return to action this week against Western Michigan at home on Thursday. Perhaps that will give us some more information on the team’s prospects this season.
#9 – Nebraska Cornhuskers (+3)
The Huskers had one of the better weeks of anyone in the league, beating Maryland Eastern Shore at home on Tuesday and following it up with a rivalry win over Oklahoma on a neutral court on Saturday. The win over the Sooners came thanks to a huge performance from Pryce Sandfort, who finished with 28 points. The games left Nebraska sitting at 4-0. Interestingly, the Huskers now hold the nation’s longest active winning streak at eight games. And even if part of that is because Nebraska didn’t make last year’s NCAA Tournament, it’s a worthy accomplishment to win eight straight and deserves praise.
Through four games, things are clearly going well for the Huskers. The team is not only undefeated, but the advanced stats are encouraging as well, with Nebraska rising 10 spots to 41st nationally since the season began. For perspective, the rise has bumped the team’s season projection to 18 wins now, which would probably be good enough to garner an NCAA Tournament appearance. In short, if Nebraska can keep it up, watch out.
Nebraska will return to action on Thursday in Kansas City against New Mexico. KenPom favors the Huskers heading into tip.
#10 – UCLA Bruins (—)
The Bruins had a relatively disappointing week, beating West Georgia at home on Monday, but falling to Arizona in Inglewood on Friday. While the loss to the Wildcats was a close one, the Bruins just couldn’t muster enough offense to get across the finish line. It dropped the team to 3-1 overall.
Like a few other teams on this list, it’s been hard to get a great feel on the Bruins. For example, UCLA went from narrowly beating Eastern Washington and Pepperdine to narrowly falling to Arizona on a neutral court just days later. There’s enough there for the critics to call UCLA a fraud and enough for the believers to argue the early results will only be a blip on the radar. Only time will tell who’s right because it’s hard to tell now.
UCLA will get two more tuneups this week, with Sacramento State at home on Tuesday and Presbyterian at home on Friday. KenPom favors the Bruins significantly in both games.
#11 – Oregon Ducks (-3)
The Ducks also only had one game last week, hosting South Dakota State at home on Wednesday. The game was closer than Duck fans probably would have liked, but Oregon still earned a win to push the team to 3-0 overall. Jackson Shelstad led the way with 22 points and eight assists.
While Oregon enters this week at 3-0, it’s hard to feel great about the team’s progress so far. The Ducks dropped from 37th to 56th on KenPom in just two weeks and the team is fortunate to have escaped without a loss. The biggest issue has been the team’s lackluster offense, which finished at a point a possession or less in Oregon’s first two games, which isn’t a mark that’s going to cut it against quality competition. Fans are hoping Dana Altman can work his magic on that side of the floor and get the Ducks playing more fluid offense when it matters.
Oregon will only get one game this week, which will come at home against rival Oregon State on Monday night. KenPom favors the Ducks, but it figures to be a challenging contest.
#12 – Iowa Hawkeyes (+1)
The Hawkeyes had a great week of play, knocking off Xavier at home on Friday in the team’s lone game of the week. It was Iowa’s first real test of the season and the team passed it with flying colors, dominating the matchup from opening tip. Bennett Stirtz led the way with 21 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. The win pushed Iowa to a perfect 3-0 on the season.
Iowa will prepare for two more tuneups this week, with Southeast Missouri at home on Tuesday and Chicago State at home on Thursday. Both teams are currently outside the top 240 on KenPom.
#13 – Maryland Terrapins (-2)
The Terrapins had a positive week, at least in terms of on court results. Maryland opened up with a win over Alcorn State on Tuesday and followed it up with a huge road win over Marquette on Saturday. The wins left the Terps sitting at 3-1 overall and certainly got fans excited after the rough Georgetown loss.
Unfortunately, the Marquette win came at a cost, as star Pharrel Payne went down with what is suspected to be a season-ending injury. If Payne proves to be unavailable moving forward, that will be a huge blow to the Terps. He was clearly the team’s best player and (in many ways) carried the team through its first few games. The pressure will be on players like Elijah Saunders and Aleks Alston to step up in his absence.
Maryland only gets one game this week, which comes against Mount St. Mary’s at home on Wednesday. The Terps will enter as significant favorites.
#14 – Northwestern Wildcats (—)
The Wildcats added two more wins last week, beating Cleveland State at home on Monday and DePaul on the road on Friday. The win over the Demons was tight, but Nick Martinelli’s 24 points helped carry Northwestern to victory. The wins pushed Northwestern to 4-0 on the season.
Northwestern will now prepare for a trip to West Virginia, where the team will tip off against Virginia on Friday afternoon. It figures to be the team’s toughest challenge of the season to date.
#15 – Washington Huskies (—)
The Huskies won the team’s only game last week, besting rival Washington State on the road. It was Washington’s best win of the year and should calm some fans down after the team’s tough loss to Baylor the week prior. The win pushed Washington 3-1 overall. The Huskies will return to action against Southern at home on Tuesday. KenPom favors Washington pretty significantly.
#16 – Penn State Nittany Lions (+2)
The Nittany Lions added two more wins last week, besting Navy at home on Tuesday and La Salle in Philadelphia on Saturday. The wins pushed Penn State to 4-0 overall and put a few spots on KenPom. The team will now prepare for Harvard at home on Wednesday and Providence in Connecticut on Saturday.
#17 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights (—)
The Scarlet Knights won the team’s only games last week, beating Maine at home on Monday and Lehigh at home on Friday. Both games were won by double-digits, though there were some hiccups along the way. Rutgers will get American and Central Connecticut at home this week.
#18 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (-2)
The Gophers had a rough week, falling on the road to Missouri in blowout fashion on Wednesday and barely holding off a terrible Green Bay squad at home on Saturday. The results were bad enough to drop Minnesota a total of 22 spots on KenPom in just a few days. As a result, the team now sits at 3-1 overall.
Generally speaking, the loss to Missouri was acceptable. The Tigers figure to be in NCAA Tournament contention this season, while the Gophers are in a rebuild. Going there and losing isn’t anything to write home about. However, when accompanied with Saturday’s nail biter against Green Bay, things look rough. The Phoenix are currently 361st nationally on KenPom. It should have been a gimme. Unfortunately, Minnesota ended up needing an extra session to avoid one of its worst losses in years.
It’s still early, but the alarm bells should be going off in Minneapolis. If Niko Medved is going to deliver, he’s going to need to get the team playing much better, and quickly. That effort will begin this week with Chicago State at home on Tuesday and San Francisco in Sioux Falls on Saturday.
