It was an up-and-down week in the Big Ten, highlighted by impressive neutral-court showings from No. 1 Purdue, No. 17 Michigan State and Nebraska but lackluster performances from the bottom three of the conference (Minnesota, Rutgers and Penn State).
Next up for the conference will be four teams (Maryland, Michigan, Oregon and Rutgers) participating in the Players Era Festival, as well as squads playing in other multiple-team events (MTEs). This upcoming week will be an important one to look back
on by the end of the season, which means it’s now time to talk about where all these teams stand heading into the most action-packed week of the season so far.
Purdue – No. 1 Seed (No. 1 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 1 Seed (No. 3 overall)
The Boilermakers have been entrenched in a battle for the top spot with Houston and Arizona (who has three AP top-15 victories already), but Purdue seized firm control of the No. 1 overall spot with its wins this week. The Boilermakers started off the week in the Bahamas with an 80-71 win against Memphis, despite Braden Smith shooting 2-for-14 in the game.
Then in the championship game of the Baha Mar Championship, Purdue absolutely dominated then-No. 15 Texas Tech in an 86-56 victory. The Boilermakers had seven players reach double-figure scoring totals including all five starters, led by a 15-point, 15-rebound performance by Oscar Cluff. Purdue shot 59% from the field and 57% from behind the three-point line in the impressive victory and the defense did a great job controlling the Red Raiders’ potent offense.
Michigan – No. 2 Seed (No. 7 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 2 Seed (No. 5 overall)
The Wolverines had one final game to build more confidence heading into the Players Era Festival. Michigan got off to a bit of a slow start in that game, leading Middle Tennessee by just six points at the half, but the Wolverines turned it on in the second half, outscoring the Blue Raiders 50-31 en route to an 86-61 win.
Yaxel Lendeborg finally looked like his stat-sheet stuffing self from UAB, notching 25 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win. Michigan will now turn its attention to three games in Las Vegas, starting out with matchups against San Diego State and Auburn.
Michigan State – No. 3 Seed (No. 11 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 4 Seed (No. 14 overall)
The Spartans have done it again. After a solid win against Arkansas at the Breslin Center earlier this season, Michigan State’s first battle away from home was a resounding success. Facing off against a Kentucky team that was in the preseason top ten, the Spartans put up their best shooting performance of the season, shooting 50% from the field and 50% from deep (with a season-high 11 three-pointers made) in an 83-66 victory at Madison Square Garden.
Michigan State kept the momentum rolling over the weekend with an 84-56 win against Detroit Mercy as well. So far, the Spartans have proven anyone who believed they wouldn’t compete atop the conference completely wrong. While there aren’t many teams that will get on Purdue’s level this year (if any teams reach that level at all), Michigan State definitely looks like a contender again.
Illinois – No. 4 Seed (No. 15 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 2 Seed (No. 7 overall)
For the second year in a row, the Fighting Illini played an exciting game against the Crimson Tide but came up just short. Illinois led 42-41 at the half, but Alabama leveled up in the second half, scoring 49 points and leaving the United Center with a 90-86 victory.
The Fighting Illini had one more game this week, and they cruised to a 98-58 triumph over Long Island in that matchup. Illinois still another chance to claim a premier non-conference win, as it takes on UConn at Madison Square Garden in a Black Friday clash.
UCLA – No. 5 Seed (No. 20 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 6 Seed (No. 22 overall)
The Bruins quickly bounced back from their loss to Arizona last week with two easy wins in campus games of the Empire Classic. The first win of the week was a 79-48 demolition against Sacramento State, where UCLA changed its starting lineup and held the Hornets scoreless for the first six minutes of the game.
The Bruins reverted to their normal starting lineup and still easily took care of Presbyterian in an 86-46 win. UCLA will now move on to play against old Pac-12 rival California at the Chase Center in San Francisco before heading into conference play in early December.
Indiana – No. 6 Seed (No. 23 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 6 Seed (No. 24 overall)
The Hoosiers have finally cooled down on the offensive end in their last two games, but Indiana has continued to stack dominant victories. The most recent dominant victory was a 73-53 win for the Hoosiers against Lindenwood in their only game of the week.
Tucker DeVries led the way with 25 points, and although no other Indiana player topped 10 points, the Hoosiers played great defense, holding Lindenwood to just 17% shooting from deep and 25% shooting from the floor overall. That great defensive performance will need to continue tomorrow when Indiana takes on Kansas State, who has scored 93+ points in four of five games this season and 84+ in all five.
Wisconsin – No. 7 Seed (No. 25 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 7 Seed (No. 25 overall)
The Badgers had two complete opposite results this week, winning by 25 in their first game of the week and losing by 28 in their second game of the week. Wisconsin easily dispatched SIUE 94-69, getting 22 points from Nick Boyd and a game-high 24 points from John Blackwell.
But the Badgers didn’t have the same luck traveling to Salt Lake City to take on BYU. AJ Dybantsa shot 12 free throws in an 18-point outing, and when Wisconsin focused on him defensively, Richie Saunders was the perfect counter, matching his season-high with 26 points in a 98-70 victory. The Badgers will have two more opportunities to get a major-conference win this week in the Rady Children’s Invitational where they will take on Providence and either Florida or TCU.
USC – No. 7 Seed (No. 28 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 7 Seed (No. 28 overall)
The Troy Trojans won a double-overtime thriller against San Diego State on Tuesday night, but they decided that two overtimes wasn’t enough, so they had to push USC to a third overtime period. Chad Baker-Mazara scored a career-high 34 points, and just before the final buzzer sounded on Thursday night, Jordan Marsh knocked down a game-winning three pointer after a wild sequence to keep USC undefeated with a 107-106 victory. Troy is a good team, so that game being close shouldn’t come as a total surprise, but USC will have to play a lot better in the Maui Invitational (even in a relatively weak field) if it wants to win that MTE.
Ohio State – No. 8 Seed (No. 29 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 8 Seed (No. 29 overall)
The Buckeyes played in just one game this week, and they boat raced Western Michigan 91-58. Bruce Thornton was able to take a bit of a back seat in that game as Christoph Tilly led the way with 17 points and seven assists and Devin Royal pitched in with a double-double (ten points, ten rebounds). Ohio State has one more game at home against Mount St. Mary’s before going on the road to take on Pittsburgh in a rematch of a matchup that the Panthers won 91-90 on an overtime buzzer-beater last season in Columbus.
Iowa – No. 8 Seed (No. 30 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 8 Seed (No. 30 overall)
The Hawkeyes had a few tune-up games this week before traveling out west for the Acrisure Classic (which would not be confused with the Acrisure Invitational or Acrisure Holiday Invitational). Iowa easily dispatched Southeast Missouri State (99-70) and Chicago State (93-54) to move to 5-0 on the season. The Hawkeyes have looked like a tournament team so far this season, and they will get a chance to prove it this week when they take on Ole Miss and either Grand Canyon or Utah in their MTE matchups.
Oregon – No. 9 Seed (No. 35 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 10 Seed (No. 39 overall, Last Four Byes)
The Ducks had just one matchup this week, but they looked a lot better in that game than they have so far this season, especially in the case of Jackson Shelstad, who scored 22 points to help Oregon defeat rival Oregon State 87-75 on Monday night. The Ducks haven’t played since then, meaning they had a full week to prepare for matchups in the Players Era Festival with Auburn and San Diego State. If Oregon can play like it did against the Beavers throughout this week, it should stay competitive and could walk away from Las Vegas with a few wins.
Nebraska – No. 10 Seed (No. 39 overall, Last Four Byes)
Previous seeding: First Four Out
The Cornhuskers are absolutely rolling to start this season. Nebraska improved to 6-0 this week by playing on back-to-back days and winning the Hall of Fame Classic. In the first game of the event, Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence scored 20+ points in an 84-72 Cornhuskers victory against New Mexico.
That win set up a matchup in the championship game of the event against de facto home team Kansas State (the Hall of Fame Classic was played in Kansas City, Mo.). In the championship, Nebraska survived 53 combined points from Abdi Bashir Jr. and P.J. Haggerty, as Sam Hoiberg made the game-winning free throw to seal an 86-85 victory against the Wildcats. The Cornhuskers have absolutely looked the part of an NCAA Tournament team so far, and they just need to remain focused in a few buy games before the calendar turns over to 2026.
Washington – First Four Out
Previous seeding: No. 11 Seed (No. 44 overall, Last Four In)
The Huskies almost got caught overlooking a scrappy Southern team at home, and that game got even closer because freshman phenom Hannes Steinbach wasn’t available. Washington did escape with a 99-93 victory, but it took two overtimes for that to happen. The Huskies even trailed by five points with just 28 seconds left in the first overtime period before mounting a comeback and sealing the victory with much better play in the second overtime.
Washington will now look to win an MTE at the Acrisure Holiday Invitational (which would not be confused with the Acrisure Invitational or Acrisure Classic) after winning the Acrisure Classic in the same building last season. The Huskies’ journey starts with a clash against Nevada on Thursday.
Northwestern – Next Four Out
Previous seeding: Next Four Out
The Wildcats were one of the first participants in Big Ten MTE mania, and Northwestern held its own, going 1-1 at the Greenbrier Tip-Off. The Wildcats struggled with the size of Virginia, giving up 26 points to Thijs De Ridder and losing 83-78 in their first game of the weekend.
But Northwestern bounced back last night, defeating South Carolina 79-77, with Arrinten Page’s game-winning layup allowing the ‘Cats to narrowly avoid a late-game collapse against the Gamecocks. Northwestern will have another matchup against major-conference competition on Thanksgiving Day at the United Center against Oklahoma State.
Maryland – Out
Previous seeding: In Consideration
The Terrapins came very close to suffering one of the more embarrassing losses of the season so far, but David Coit scored a career-high 41 points, sent the game to overtime and eventually led Maryland to a 95-90 win against Mount St. Mary’s. It was a stressful game, but the Terrapins still ended up escaping the week without suffering a bad loss.
Maryland now moves on to matchups with UNLV and No. 13 Gonzaga at the Players Era Festival. It goes without saying that the Terps need to play a whole lot better to walk away with any wins this week.
Minnesota – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Golden Gophers started out the week with an ugly 66-54 win against Chicago State. Cade Tyson scored 22 points in the low-scoring victory, but unfortunately, Minnesota’s offense around Tyson didn’t wake up quite enough to match up with San Francisco.
The Golden Gophers never had a lead against the Dons and fell 77-65 in a neutral-site battle. Minnesota will have a few more opportunities to claim wins at a neutral site when it travels to the Acrisure Invitational (yes there is a third MTE with an Acrisure namesake and a Big Ten participant).
Penn State – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Nittany Lions finally played a pair of higher-level opponents this week, and it showed. In its first game of the week, freshman Kayden Mingo (career-high 24 points) led Penn State to an 84-80 win against Harvard after trailing by three points at the half at home.
In the Nittany Lions’ second game of the week, they took on Providence in a neutral site clash. Penn State only trailed the Friars 32-31 at halftime, but Providence woke up in the second half offensively, outscoring the Nittany Lions 45-32 in the half to claim a 77-65 win.
Rutgers – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Scarlet Knights started off the week on the right foot, beating American 80-71 to secure a 4-0 start for the first time since the 2020-21 season. But Rutgers very quickly reversed any positive momentum it built early in the week with a shocking 67-54 loss at home to Central Connecticut.
The Scarlet Knights likely weren’t going to compete for an NCAA Tournament bid, but losses like these still damage the rest of the Big Ten by adding the potential for a rare bad loss in-conference. Rutgers has to bounce back quickly, as it will take on Tennessee and Notre Dame in the Players Era Festival this week.
