The second full week of December basketball included some big upsets in conference, a few teams towards the bottom of the B1G hierarchy causing some top-tier teams to sweat down the stretch and some big matchups in non-conference as well. There is also now a big enough sample size to really start trusting what the metrics have to say about each of these teams, meaning the NCAA Tournament picture has only gotten clearer this week.
Michigan – No. 1 Seed (No. 1 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 1 Seed (No. 1 overall)
The Wolverines took on Villanova
in their first game of the week, and they had no problem dealing with the Wildcats at home. Michigan held an opponent under 62 points for the third straight game in an 89-61 win to stay undefeated. That momentum didn’t quite exactly carry over to a conference clash on the road against Maryland. The Wolverines trailed 50-45 at the half and by as many as nine points early in the second half, but after Solomon Washington got ejected with his second technical foul of the game, Yaxel Lendeborg (29 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three blocks) and the rest of Michigan took over the game, out-scoring the Terrapins 54-27 from that moment until the end of the game. The Wolverines will now have a full week off before taking on La Salle at home on Sunday.
Purdue – No. 3 Seed (No. 9 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 2 Seed (No. 8 overall)
The Boilermakers suffered their first loss of the season last weekend against an Iowa State team ranked in the top five of the most recent AP poll, but after a slow start to the week, Purdue bounced back. The Boilermakers led Minnesota by just three points at halftime at home, but outscored the Golden Gophers 50-25 to grab an 85-57 win and start conference play 2-0. Purdue finished the week with a dominant 79-59 victory at home against Marquette, capitalizing on two opportunities to get back to early-season form.
Michigan State – No. 3 Seed (No. 10 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 3 Seed (No. 10 overall)
The Spartans had nearly a week off before facing Penn State on the road and barely escaped with a victory. Michigan State won 76-72, but needed all of Divine Ugochukwu’s 23 points (on 8-for-10 shooting and 5-for-5 on three-pointers) to get the win. Tom Izzo certainly won’t be happy with that performance, but given their performance in non-conference games, the Spartans should be more than fine moving forward. Michigan State’s upcoming schedule doesn’t feature a power conference school until conference play restarts in 2026, meaning the Spartans have plenty of time to hit their stride again.
Nebraska – No. 4 Seed (No. 13 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 5 Seed (No. 17 overall)
The Cornhuskers have clearly been the most (positively) surprising team in the conference so far. Nebraska destroyed Wisconsin 90-60 in its Big Ten opener to get to 10-0, matching the best start in program history, but the ‘Huskers weren’t done just yet. Nebraska took the show on the road to face then-No. 13 Illinois, and the game that everyone thought would be the Cornhuskers’ first loss of the season turned out to be a signature win. Nebraska won 83-80 on a game-winning three by Jamarques Lawrence in the first ranked-against-ranked conference matchup of the season. That was the Cornhuskers’ first Quad 1 win of the season, although they are currently slated to play ten more games against Quad 1 opponents.
Illinois – No. 4 Seed (No. 16 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 4 Seed (No. 14 overall)
The Fighting Illini followed up a big win against Tennessee with an 88-80 road win against Ohio State to open up conference play. But Illinois couldn’t protect its home court against Nebraska, falling 83-80 despite Tomislav Ivišić’s three-pointer tying the game at 80 with less than 20 seconds left. The Fighting Illini have a neutral court Quad 2 opportunity tonight against Missouri before going on Christmas break, but even after the loss to Nebraska, Illinois’ 3-3 record in Quad 1 games is still good enough to keep it in protected seed contention for now.
Iowa – No. 6 Seed (No. 24 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 7 Seed (No. 26 overall)
The Hawkeyes were preparing towards the end of last week for a rivalry game against an in-state juggernaut: No. 4 Iowa State. In last week’s edition of this column, I said the following: “If Iowa can even keep that game close, it would be a respectable performance.” The Hawkeyes did more than keep it close, taking a 33-25 lead into halftime and trailing by just one point with 1:38 left, even after a furious Cyclones comeback in the second half. Iowa fell 66-62 on the road, but given the tear Iowa State has been on, that was a very good performance. The Hawkeyes quickly got back on track, winning 91-51 against Western Michigan at home.
USC – No. 7 Seed (No. 25 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 7 Seed (No. 27 overall)
The Trojans continued their march through a relatively easy non-conference schedule this week, grabbing wins against San Diego and Washington State. USC got 31 points from Chad Baker-Mazara to help beat the Toreros 94-81, then 21 points and 10 rebounds from Jacob Cofie led the way in a 68-61 win against the Cougars. The Trojans are in a strong position through the first third of the season and will play UTSA and Brown this week before moving on to conference play in 2026.
Indiana – No. 9 Seed (No. 34 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 8 Seed (No. 31 overall)
The Hoosiers were looking to snap a two-game skid this week, and they did just that in style. Lamar Wilkerson scored a career-high 44 points, including 10 made three-pointers, in a 113-72 win against Penn State at home. But the Hoosiers’ big win was only the first game of the week, and the weekend presented a much bigger challenge. Indiana ran into a hungry Kentucky team looking to prove itself to its home fans, and after leading 39-32 at the half, the Hoosiers went stagnant in the second half at Rupp Arena, scoring just 21 points and eventually falling 72-60. Indiana is now 0-2 in Quad 1 games, and the Hoosiers are now on pace to enter the bulk of conference play with solid metrics but no signature wins.
Ohio State – No. 10 Seed (No. 37 overall, Last Four Byes)
Previous seeding: No. 10 Seed (No. 37 overall, Last Four Byes)
The Buckeyes had an opportunity to get a big win this week against then-No. 13 Illinois. Ohio State never trailed by more than 10 points in the game, but lost 88-80 at home to the Fighting Illini. The Buckeyes then took on West Virginia in Cleveland in one of the closest games of the weekend. Ohio State beat the Mountaineers 89-88 in double overtime thanks to a Bruce Thornton game-winner with 3.6 seconds left. Currently, West Virginia is ranked No. 101 on the NET rankings. But a one-spot rise from the Mountaineers would put Ohio State at 3-1 in Quad 1 and 2 combined, and solidify a resume that currently is just on the right side of a weak early-season bubble picture.
UCLA – No. 10 Seed (No. 39 overall, Last Four Byes)
Previous seeding: No. 9 Seed (No. 33 overall)
The Bruins traveled to the state of Washington for the second straight week, this time taking on then-No. 8 Gonzaga. UCLA held its own in that game, starting out with a 7-0 run, and never trailing by more than 11 points. Unfortunately for the Bruins, they still fell 82-72 in a Seattle neutral-court game that felt a lot more like a Gonzaga home game. UCLA now sits at 1-2 in Quad 1 games and 0-1 in its only Quad 2 opportunity, which isn’t quite enough to avoid the bubble.
Wisconsin – First Four Out
Previous seeding: No. 9 Seed (No. 35 overall)
The Badgers grabbed two wins by solid margins last week, but could not follow that up in their final conference play appetizer game. Wisconsin got run out of the gym by Nebraska, losing 90-60 in their first true road game of the season. After a 4-0 start to the season in buy games (all Quad 4), the Badgers are just 3-3 in their last six games, all against power conference opponents. Wisconsin is just 2-3 combined against Quad 1 and 2 opponents, though it has 15 games remaining against the top two quadrants, including a very important Quad 1 game against Villanova on Friday.
Washington – Next Four Out
Previous seeding: In Consideration
The Huskies demolished Southern Utah 105-69 at home. Washington had six players reach double-figure scoring in that game, with 14 points each from Hannes Steinbach and Wesley Yates leading the way. The Huskies will likely need more balanced scoring to beat a sneaky good Seattle U team (who has already beaten Stanford on the road this season) later this week in what can definitely be called a trap game.
Northwestern – Out
Previous seeding: Out
After losing three games in a row, including their first two conference games, the Wildcats bounced back with a 93-53 win against Jackson State. Northwestern hasn’t had any issues against low-level opponents this season, so Valparaiso shouldn’t be a challenge, but the Wildcats have a Quad 1 opportunity against Butler on Saturday. Northwestern is 0-4 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents this season, and it feels like that matchup with the Bulldogs is a must-win for the Wildcats to prove they can compete in conference play this season.
Penn State – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Nittany Lions’ schedule heading into the week included just one game against a high-major opponent, which was a 77-65 loss to Providence. Penn State struggled to match the moment in its first game of the week, a 113-72 loss to Indiana at Assembly Hall. However, in the second game of the week, it showed it could hang with some of the better teams in the conference in a 76-72 loss to Michigan State at home. Penn State will take on Pitt in a neutral-court in-state rivalry game on Sunday as the Nittany Lions continue to search for their first win against a high-major opponent this season.
Oregon – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Ducks snapped their five-game losing streak on Saturday with a 104-62 win against UC Davis. Somehow, Oregon’s season has gone so poorly so far that the Ducks were 51 spots behind the Aggies heading into that game, resulting in a 44-spot bump in the NET rankings after the dominant victory. Oregon plays Gonzaga on Sunday and KenPom gives the Ducks just a 10% chance to win that game.
Maryland – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Terrapins more than held their own against Michigan, taking a 50-45 lead into halftime against the Wolverines on Saturday night. David Coit was sensational in the first half, scoring 22 points to help Maryland take a five-point halftime lead, but Pharrel Payne left in the first half with an injury and did not return to the game. In the second half, Michigan tried to get the ball out of Coit’s hands as much as possible, and despite his 31 points in the game, the Wolverines weathered the storm and won 101-83. Next up for Maryland is a road matchup against Virginia.
Minnesota – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Golden Gophers had a chance to shock the world earlier this week after trailing Purdue by just three points at the half on the road. However, the Boilermakers dominated the second half, claiming an 85-57 win. Minnesota bounced back on Sunday with an 89-53 win against Texas Southern, which included a career-high 38-point outing from Cade Tyson. Tyson has been the bright spot for the Golden Gophers, as his 22.6 points per game rank within the nation’s top five scorers and puts him at the top of the conference in scoring so far. Minnesota as a team still needs to find more scorers to have a chance to compete in the conference.
Rutgers – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Scarlet Knights lost 81-59 in a road game against Seton Hall this weekend. With the loss, Rutgers fell to 5-6 on the season, including losses in six of their last seven games after a 4-0 start. Other teams in the B1G can only hope the Scarlet Knights can win by huge margins against Penn and Delaware State, because currently, Rutgers is going to be a Quad 4 opponent in a home game and a Quad 3 opponent on the road — far from ideal for a conference game.
