Conference play resumed last week, with an incredible slate of games over the weekend. It included an epic matchup between Michigan State and Nebraska in Lincoln and some intriguing games for teams like Illinois, Michigan, and Purdue as well. Of course, it all led to a shakeup in these Rankings.
So, let’s jump into this week’s Power Rankings.
Big Ten Week Nine Power Rankings
#1 – Michigan Wolverines (—)
The Wolverines had two games last week and both were impressive results. Michigan opened with a dominant win over a respectable McNeese State squad on Monday
and then followed it up with a 30-point win over a ranked USC squad at home on Friday. The wins left Michigan sitting at 13-0 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play.
At this point, we’re starting to run out of superlatives to describe this year’s Wolverine squad. Michigan has been ridiculously (and historically) dominant. The team already has seven games where it’s scored at least 100 points and it’s won 10 (!!!) straight games by 15 or more. The schedule also hasn’t been particularly easy either. For example, KenPom has Michigan with the 11th toughest schedule in the country. Rolling through a slate like that with this level of domination deserves recognition.
Moreover, it’s worth mentioning that Michigan often doesn’t even seem to be playing particularly well in these blowouts. For instance, the Wolverines only hit 30.4 percent from three in the win over McNeese State on Monday and just 20 percent in the win over USC. Starters Yaxel Lendeborg and Nimari Burnett also missed significant time in the victory over the Trojans due to injury concerns. It’s hard to imagine many teams beating a ranked opponent shooting just 20 percent from deep or down two starters. However, Michigan not only did it with both those circumstances on Friday, but ended up winning by 30. It’s almost difficult to comprehend that level of domination.
Generally speaking, it’s hard to come up with a flaw or issue for Michigan. Many have cautioned that the team might be “peaking early” or warned about its inability to win competitive games, based upon a lack of competitive contests. And those concerns may prove well founded as the season continues. After all, it’s hard to say whether Michigan will be comfortable if it ends up in a tight game, considering it hasn’t been in one since November 11th.
Still, these kind of generic critiques feel too benign for what Michigan is doing right now. This isn’t a team that’s skating by against a weak slate or narrowly beating teams — Michigan is annihilating some of the best opponents and programs in the country. It’s been drawing comparisons to some of the sports all-time teams, including 2015 Kentucky and 1976 Indiana. And while those discussions are probably still premature, we’re no longer in November of December anymore. If Michigan keeps this up, it’s going to hold up well against those groups.
Michigan will now prepare for Penn State on the road on Tuesday and Wisconsin at home on Saturday. KenPom projects two blowouts in those games. At this point, it’s hard to disagree.
#2 – Purdue Boilermakers (—)
The Boilermakers had a fantastic week, blasting a respectable MAC team in Kent State at home on Monday and following it up with a road win over Wisconsin on Saturday night. The wins pushed Purdue out to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play. The Boilers have also now won five straight, including two away from home.
Purdue’s overall profile remains strong. The Boilers are up to fourth nationally on KenPom and are easily one of the league’s better squads. The only question will be whether Purdue can keep pace with teams like Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska in the Big Ten title race. So far, the answer has been “yes” and things look encouraging, at least for the coming weeks with a favorable forthcoming slate.
The team will return to action this week with Washington at home on Wednesday and Penn State at home on Saturday. The Boilermakers are significant favorites in both games.
#3 – Nebraska Cornhuskers (+1)
The Huskers won both of the team’s games last week, taking care of a terrible New Hampshire squad at home on Tuesday and following it up with a massive win over Michigan State at home on Friday. The latter game came down to the closing seconds, with the Huskers winning on two missed free throws. The wins pushed Nebraska to 14-0 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play.
While Friday’s win was technically expected (Nebraska was favored before tip), it felt like a seismic event and a statement about the program. The Huskers knocked off Illinois last month, but the group needed to prove that win wasn’t a fluke. Well, they did just that on Friday night, beating arguably the best and most consistent Big Ten program in an epic battle. It’s the kind of win that’s going to age like a fine wine by Selection Sunday.
At this point, Nebraska has to be viewed as a legitimate contender in the Big Ten. While the group’s KenPom rating (22nd) is markedly behind Michigan and Purdue (both in the top four), the Huskers simply keep winning. The team’s home court also remains a major advantage. Until someone knocks off Nebraska, it deserves to be mentioned with the league’s top contenders.
Nebraska will get two challenging games this week, with Ohio State on the road on Monday and Indiana on the road on Saturday. KenPom has the Huskers as underdogs in both games.
#4 – Illinois Fighting Illini (+1)
The Illini took care of business this week, beating Southern at home on Monday in blowout fashion and following it up with a win over Penn State in Philly on Saturday. The two wins left Illinois sitting at 11-3 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Illinois is also up to eighth nationally on KenPom.
Illinois will now prepare for two wildly divergent games. The team will get Rutgers at home on Thursday and then Iowa on the road on Sunday. The former projects as a comfortable win for Illinois, while the second game will be quite a challenge, playing on the road against a hot Iowa squad.
#5 – Michigan State Spartans (-2)
The Spartans split the team’s games last week, beating Cornell at home on Monday and falling in a tight one to Nebraska on the road on Friday. The game came down to a few key free throws in the closing minutes. The split left Michigan State sitting at 12-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
Generally speaking, Michigan State’s resume remains strong. The team already has wins against four top 30 opponents and a handful of other respectable wins against opponents like Penn State and Toledo. The two losses have also been by narrow margins against great opponents in Duke and Nebraska. In fact, Michigan State is probably three or four buckets away from being 14-0 right now and a top five ranking.
Still, Friday’s loss is a tough one that could weigh heavily in the Big Ten title race. Spartans fans are expecting to be a factor in that race and falling a game behind red hot Michigan and Purdue squads is certainly a tough blow. For perspective, KenPom now projects the Spartans to finish conference play at just 13-7 overall, which would be tied for fourth place with the very Nebraska squad that beat Michigan State on Friday night. It’s five games behind where rival Michigan is expected to finish. While that’s just a projection, it puts into context the type of uphill battle Friday’s loss could create for the Spartans. We’ll have to wait and see how it shakes out, of course.
Michigan State will get two winnable games this week, with USC at home on Monday and Northwestern at home on Thursday. KenPom favors the Spartans significantly in both games.
#6 – Iowa Hawkeyes (+1)
The Hawkeyes had a great week of play, beating UMass Lowell at home on Monday and then taking care of UCLA at home on Saturday. The latter projected as a bit of a “measuring stick” opportunity for Iowa, wherein the team finally got an opportunity against a good, but not great opponent. Fortunately for Hawkeye fans, Iowa passed the test with a double-digit win. The results left Iowa sitting at 12-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
Iowa will now prepare for arguably its most important week of the season to date, with Minnesota on the road on Tuesday and Illinois at home on Sunday. KenPom has the Hawks favored in both games, though it’s only by the narrowest of margins against Illinois. If Iowa manages to sweep the games, it would instantly vault up these Rankings and into the Big Ten title discussion. Conversely, two losses would be absolutely devastating and would deal a serious blow to Iowa’s NCAA hopes. It’s make or break time for Ben McCollum and company.
#7 – Indiana Hoosiers (+1)
The Hoosiers won the team’s only game last week, taking care of Washington at home on Sunday evening. While the Huskies kept things competitive, Indiana controlled from the early minutes in a double-digit victory. The win pushed Indiana to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
Indiana will now prepare for an intriguing slate of games, with Maryland on the road on Wednesday and a (currently) undefeated Nebraska squad at home on Saturday. Two wins would answer a lot of Hoosier fans’ questions about the team’s postseason hopes. Fortunately, KenPom has the squad favored in both games.
#8 – USC Trojans (-2)
The Trojans lost the team’s only game last week, falling on the road to Michigan on Friday by 30 points. The result would normally warrant severe criticism, but Michigan has been doing this to so many teams that it’s hard to criticize USC too much for the loss. The game left USC sitting at 12-2 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play.
USC will get two more challenging games this week, with Michigan State on the road on Monday and Minnesota on the road on Friday. KenPom projects a split. We’ll see if the Trojans can overcome those projections.
#9 – Ohio State Buckeyes (+1)
The Buckeyes won the team’s only game last week, taking care of business against Rutgers on the road on Friday. The game was relatively hard fought, but Ohio State was able to do enough to get the win. The victory left the group sitting at 10-3 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
Ohio State remains firmly in the NCAA bubble conversation. TRank has the Buckeyes as one of the last four teams in the field and it’s hard to disagree with that assessment. The team has generally been taking care of business, but lacks the marquee wins to remove doubt.
Fortunately for Buckeye fans, Ohio State gets two chances to add some quality wins this week, with Nebraska at home on Monday and Oregon on the road on Thursday. KenPom favors the Buckeyes in both games, but only narrowly. Even a split would be a great step forward in Columbus.
#10 – UCLA Bruins (-1)
The Bruins had a disappointing week, falling to Iowa on the road on Saturday in UCLA’s only game of the week. And while a loss to Iowa by itself wouldn’t have been too disappointing, losing by double-digit in a game where Iowa controlled from tip will be a tough pill for Bruin fans to swallow. It left UCLA sitting at 10-4 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
At this point, UCLA seems headed for a bubble season. KenPom projects the Bruins to finish at 19-12 overall, which would put the team in the danger zone. TRank currently has UCLA sitting as an nine seed, but that feels far too optimistic for how things have played out to date. It’s going to put a ton of pressure on every game moving forward, especially in the “winnable” matchups, where the Bruins are favored heading into tip.
UCLA will get two critical games this week, with Wisconsin on the road on Tuesday and Maryland at home on Saturday. KenPom projects a split, but the Bruins need to find a way to sweep.
#11 – Oregon Ducks (+2)
The Ducks won the team’s 2026 opener, going on the road and beating Maryland on Friday night. The game was competitive, but Oregon pulled away down the stretch to earn a double-digit win. The victory left Oregon sitting at 8-6 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play.
Unfortunately, Oregon’s November struggles still leave the Ducks with plenty of ground to make up, as the calendar rolls into the heart of Big Ten play. We’ll see if the group can make some progress with Rutgers on the road on Monday and Ohio State at home on Thursday.
#12 – Wisconsin Badgers (-1)
The Badgers had a disappointing week. While the team began with a win over Milwaukee at home on Tuesday, it followed it up with a tough loss to Purdue at home on Saturday. The latter had been circled by Badger fans for months as a potential upset opportunity for the squad. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out, as Wisconsin fell to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play after the outing.
Like a few other teams on this list, Wisconsin now finds itself in a precarious spot for this year’s NCAA Tournament. There’s certainly still a long way to go, but most of the projections now have the Badgers outside the field. KenPom has Wisconsin finishing the regular season at just 17-14 overall and TRank currently has the Badgers as the 19th team outside the field. Accordingly, it’s going to take quite a turnaround to beat those numbers — the team needs to drastically outperform current expectations.
Wisconsin will get two big ones this week, with UCLA at home on Tuesday and Michigan on the road on Saturday. KenPom has the Badgers projected for a split.
#13 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (+2)
The Gophers swept the team’s games last week, beating Fairleigh Dickinson at home on Monday and Northwestern on the road on Saturday. The win against the Wildcats featured an incredible comeback in the closing minutes of the game. For perspective, Minnesota had just a 6.1 percent chance of victory with 4:39 remaining, but found a way to win. The results left the Gophers sitting at 9-5 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
While Minnesota’s resume is far from perfect through 14 games, Niko Medved and company keep doing just enough to keep hope alive. In particular, the upset wins over Indiana and Northwestern have many Gopher fans believing there might be more than this team than some of its overall statistical projections. If Minnesota can carry over some momentum from those into the upcoming home slate, perhaps there’s hope after all.
Minnesota will now get rival Iowa at home on Tuesday and USC at home on Friday. The Gophers are projected as underdogs in both games, but neither looks unwinnable, especially if the team plays well. If Minnesota can find a way to at least split the results, things could get really interesting when the group takes on arch rival Wisconsin on January 13th.
#14 – Northwestern Wildcats (-2)
The Wildcats had mixed results last week. Northwestern opened with a win over Howard at home on Tuesday, but fall flat in the followup, falling at home to Minnesota on Saturday. The loss was particularly rough, as Northwestern appeared firmly in position to get a win with about four minutes remaining before it collapsed before the final buzzer. The loss left Northwestern sitting at 8-6 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play.
Northwestern will try and get back on track this week against Michigan State on the road on Thursday and Rutgers on the road on Sunday. KenPom projects a split, which would be a respectable result under the circumstances.
#15 – Washington Huskies (-1)
The Huskies split the team’s games last week, beating a competent Utah squad at home on Monday, but falling on the road to Indiana on Sunday night. The mixed results left Washington sitting at 9-5 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play. The group is now just 2-2 over its last four games and just 4-4 over its last eight.
Washington is another team that remains alive for an NCAA Tournament bid, but the margin continues to shrink. KenPom has the Huskies projected to finish the regular season at 17-14 overall and TRank has Washington as the 21st team outside the field. The team is clearly on the wrong side of the bubble, and the question is whether that trend can reverse course in the coming weeks.
Unfortunately, Washington remains amid a brutal stretch. The team will return to action on Wednesday on the road against Purdue and then face Ohio State at home on Sunday. Even a split against those opponents would be a respectable performance.
#16 – Maryland Terrapins (—)
The Terrapins had a rough week, falling to Oregon at home on Friday in the team’s only game of the week. The loss dropped Maryland to 7-7 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play. At this point, it’s hard to believe Maryland will even be in the picture for a postseason bid as the calendar rolls into February. The group’s offense is the primary culprit, currently sitting at 143rd nationally on KenPom.
Maryland will try and bounce back this week with Indiana at home on Wednesday and UCLA on the road on Saturday. The Terps are massive underdogs in both games.
#17 – Penn State Nittany Lions (—)
The Nittany Lions had a rough week. The team beat North Carolina Central at home on Monday, but fell flat against Illinois in Philly on Saturday. The loss dropped Penn State to 9-5 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play. Penn State remains winless against top 175 KenPom opponents this season, which is a stat that’s looking worse with each additional day passing by.
Unfortunately, things won’t get much easier, as Penn State gets an absolutely brutal slate this week, with Michigan at home on Tuesday and Purdue on the road on Saturday. The Nittany Lions are massive underdogs in both games. An upset in either game would be a significant step in the right direction for the program.
#18 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights (—)
The Scarlet Knights had mixed result last week. Rutgers opened with a win over Delaware State at home on Monday, but followed it up with a tough loss to Ohio State at home on Friday. The loss to the Buckeyes dropped Rutgers to 7-7 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play. It was a crushing defeat, as it likely ended any slim postseason hopes Scarlet Knight fans still possessed. Rutgers will try and bounce back against Oregon at home on Monday, Illinois on the road on Thursday, and against Northwestern at home on Sunday. KenPom projects three losses.
