As teams take their respective Christmas breaks, there weren’t too many B1G games over the last week. The overwhelming majority of those games were buy games, but that won’t stop this column from staying on its weekly schedule. In spirit of the holiday season and the upcoming New Year, I have compiled a list of New Year’s Resolutions (in bold throughout the article) for each team in the B1G as we are a little over one third of the way through the season and full-time conference play is just around
the corner.
Michigan – No. 1 Seed (No. 1 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 1 Seed (No. 1 overall)
Just like the conundrum of what to get the child who has everything for Christmas, it’s hard to determine what an undefeated team needs to “fix” in the New Year. However, for Michigan, the resolution is actually pretty clear: right the wrongs of early 2025 and win the Big Ten regular season title. The Wolverines were 12-2 in conference play before facing No. 14 Michigan State (12-3 in conference play heading into that game) in a rivalry clash at home. The Spartans won that matchup (and their last seven overall conference games) and cruised to the B1G conference title, while Michigan went 2-4 in its final six games and tied for second in the conference standings, three games behind Michigan State.
Purdue – No. 2 Seed (No. 7 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 2 Seed (No. 7 overall)
The Boilermakers have lived up to the preseason expectations, losing only to undefeated Iowa State and picking up some impressive victories along the path to an 11-1 start. Purdue still has the No. 1 offense in the country according to KenPom, but if the Boilermakers can improve their 17th-ranked defense, they will really start looking like the team that was ranked No. 1 preseason. It’s also worth noting that Purdue hasn’t given up more than 60 points in a game since losing 81-58 to No. 3 Iowa State, so the improvement has already started, but it must continue for this team to cut down the nets.
Michigan State – No. 3 Seed (No. 10 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 3 Seed (No. 10 overall)
The Spartans have not allowed more than 72 points in any game this season, and have had four games holding their opponents under 60 points as well, leading to a ranking of No. 6 on KenPom’s defensive efficiency rankings. However, the Spartans have still had three wins within a ten-point margin and a loss at home to Duke because their offense hasn’t been quite good enough to separate, even when the defense has been dominant. Thus, the resolution for Michigan State is the opposite of Purdue’s resolution, as the Spartans will need more on the offensive end to be a true contender. The more specific key is to set up efficient three-point shooters – namely, Divine Ugochukwu, Jaxon Kohler (so far) and Kur Teng – while keeping the inefficient shooters (like Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr) from taking up too much volume when it comes to shooting from beyond the arc.
Nebraska – No. 3 Seed (No. 12 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 3 Seed (No. 12 overall)
The Cornhuskers have had a magical run to start the season, but that doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement. Nebraska’s rotation after Connor Essegian’s injury has essentially boiled down to six main contributors and limited impact in limited minutes from Jared Garcia and Cale Jacobsen. To me, the resolution for the Cornhuskers is to allow those two to play more significant minutes early on in conference play to add some more depth to the roster. Nebraska will likely have some games (whether it’s because of illnesses, minor injuries or foul trouble) where it needs Garcia and Jacobsen to play impactful minutes later in the season. The earlier they are settled into the flow of different lineups, the better.
Illinois – No. 4 Seed (No. 14 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 4 Seed (No. 15 overall)
The Fighting Illini demolished Missouri 91-48. Illinois is now 4-3 in games against top-65 opponents on KenPom, which brings me to my resolution for the Illini: keep taking care of business against inferior opponents, but find a way to sneak out wins against elite competition. Although Illinois’ record against top-65 opponents is great, it’s not as pretty as you’d expect beneath the surface. Changing the cut-off point, the Illini are just 1-3 against KenPom top-25 opponents, with a win against Tennessee, but losses against UConn, Alabama and Nebraska. The B1G features six teams (including Illinois) in the KenPom top 20, so if the Illini want to compete for a protected seed, they have to be able to win those top-25 games in conference.
Iowa – No. 5 Seed (No. 20 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 5 Seed (No. 20 overall)
The Hawkeyes’ New Year’s resolution is similar to the resolution for Illinois, but on an even simpler level, Iowa just needs a marquee victory. Although some of the Illini’s wins aren’t against the elite teams on their schedule, the Hawkeyes have yet to beat a top-59 team this season. The best win on Iowa’s resume is a neutral site victory against Ole Miss, which is 60th in KenPom and 98th in the NET rankings. The Hawkeyes still have nine Quad 1 games left this season, so there are more than enough opportunities for them to get a few. But so far, Iowa hasn’t shown the ability to claim those wins.
USC – No. 7 Seed (No. 27 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 7 Seed (No. 27 overall)
The Trojans might have the easiest resolution for anyone to come up with: get healthy and continue to build chemistry. USC has leaned heavily on Ezra Ausar and Chad Baker-Mazara this season after losing Amarion Dickerson and Rodney Rice to injuries. Rice is out for the season, but getting Dickerson back will be very important for the Trojans’ defense as he grades out as the third-best defender on the team (min. 200 possessions) according to EvanMiya. USC also added Kam Woods, who made his team debut last week, and Woods’ ability to gel with the rest of the team (which has already played 12 games without Woods) will significantly raise or limit the ceiling of USC’s season.
Indiana – No. 10 Seed (No. 37 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 10 Seed (No. 37 overall, Last Four Byes)
The Hoosiers entered their holiday break with an 80-61 win against Siena at home. Although “find a way to get a Quad 1 win” would be a decent resolution, I think the real solution to Indiana’s problems is to find some consistency in 2026, and the wins will follow naturally. A team with a 23-point win against Marquette, a 17-point win against Kansas State and a 41-point win against Penn State should not also have a loss to Minnesota, an uncompetitive first half against Louisville and a second-half collapse against Kentucky. The potential is there with this team, and as soon as the Hoosiers can consistently string together 40 minutes of quality basketball, they’ll start to thrive.
UCLA – No. 10 Seed (No. 38 overall, Last Four Byes)
Previous seeding: No. 10 Seed (No. 38 overall, Last Four Byes)
Tyler Bilodeau scored a career-high 34 points against UC Riverside in a 97-65 win on Tuesday night. But Donovan Dent tallied just seven points and three assists in that game, which brings me to my resolution for the Bruins. Donovan Dent has to get back into all-conference form for this team to reach its full potential. Dent averaged 16 points, 8.3 assists and 2.3 steals over a three-game stretch (which included games against Arizona State and Gonzaga) before the UC Riverside game, so he has shown signs of breaking out. But over the course of the season, Dent’s averages of 12.6 points, 6.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds aren’t good enough to get this UCLA team to match the expectations of a preseason AP top-15 team.
Ohio State – No. 11 Seed (No. 45 overall, Last Four In)
Previous seeding: No. 11 Seed (No. 45 overall, Last Four Byes)
The Buckeyes scored 85+ points in a game for the seventh time in 12 games this season in an 89-63 win against Grambling State. However, scoring has never been the concern for Ohio State. The resolution is for the Buckeyes to finish close games consistently. Ohio State has played five games within a five-point final score margin this season but is 2-3 in those games, including a disappointing loss to Pitt. If the Buckeyes were 0-5, they would also have losses in games against West Virginia and Notre Dame that are right on the borders between Quad 2 and Quad 3. However, the larger problem is that Ohio State shouldn’t be playing close games against that level of teams in the first place, and that tendency will come back to bite them in conference play if it doesn’t change.
Wisconsin – Next Four Out
Previous seeding: Next Four Out
The Badgers defeated Central Michigan 88-61 on Monday night. Wisconsin shot 42% (13-for-31) from beyond the arc, and that is a trend that must continue for this team to make the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers are shooting 34.5% on threes as a team, which is not a horrible number, but certainly isn’t good. More specifically, Wisconsin must get better shooting from Austin Rapp, Nick Boyd and Nolan Winter in conference play. All three of those players shot somewhere between 35-36% on threes last season, but all three of them are shooting 31.3% or worse from beyond the arc this season. If the Badgers can get positive regression from those shooters, they will heavily improve.
Washington – In Consideration
Previous seeding: Out
The Huskies beat San Diego 86-56 on Monday. While some of its struggles can be attributed to injuries, Washington has not played a good enough schedule so far to already have four losses. The Huskies do have a Quad 1 win on the road against USC and a Quad 2 win against Nevada, but neither of those are marquee victories. Washington has competed with good teams, but the resolution for the Huskies is to beat multiple teams that are better than them to climb back into the tournament picture.
Northwestern – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Wildcats currently have their worst defense (71st on KenPom) since 2022 (73rd on KenPom), and are trending towards their worst since 2020 (150th on KenPom in an 8-23 season). Northwestern takes care of the ball well enough and has shown signs of a serviceable offense this year, but a higher commitment to the defensive side of the game is absolutely necessary for this team to work its way back into the middle of the pack in the B1G and the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Oregon – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Ducks started out the season flat, but defeated Omaha 80-57 to grab their third win in four games (with the only loss coming to a top-five Gonzaga team). If Oregon can continue to play at the level it has in its last few games, it will be a trap game for any B1G team making the long trek out west. The resolution for this team is to find a reliable fifth scoring option. The Ducks’ top four scorers – Jackson Shelstad, Nate Bittle, Kwame Evans Jr. and Takai Simpkins – all average 12.6 points per game or more, but no one else on the team averages more than 7.1 points. Oregon has just three capable scorers on the court at any given time, and that just won’t be enough in conference play.
Minnesota – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Golden Gophers are in the same boat as many teams towards the bottom of the conference standings, with minimal chances to compete for an NCAA Tournament spot. However, Minnesota does already have a conference victory, and since that win came against Indiana, it’s close to a Quad 1 win. So the thing on the Golden Gophers’ wish list for the New Year has to be causing more chaos in the rest of the conference. The Hoosiers’ resume would look a lot better without a loss to Minnesota, and every win the Gophers pick up against the top half of the conference will be a “bad loss” on other teams’ resumes. Minnesota also needs more momentum going into Niko Medved’s second year, and a few big upsets could be just what it needs to gain that momentum.
Maryland – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Terrapins snapped a three-game losing streak with a 73-58 win against Old Dominion. Maryland will get a little bit of a repeat resolution from a few other teams, but the Terps also just have to stay healthy for the rest of the season. Out of any teams in the bottom six of the conference, this might be the team that I personally have the most faith in. With Pharel Payne in the game for a decent portion of the first half, Maryland was leading Michigan at the half. But following Payne’s injury and eventually Solomon Washington’s ejection, the team fell apart because of a lack of depth. However, when Washington and Payne are healthy, this team does have what it takes to steal a few games from the middle of the pack in the B1G.
Penn State – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Nittany Lions’ goal for the New Year is simple: get a win against a non-Quad 4 team. As hard as it is to believe, Penn State is (as expected) 8-0 against Quad 4 but 0-2 against Quad 1, 0-1 against Quad 2 and 0-1 against Quad 3. If that trend continues, simply put, Penn State will end the season with one win in conference play (against Rutgers). Despite an 8-4 record, the Nittany Lions need to be a lot more competitive in the New Year to dig out from the cellar of the conference.
Rutgers – Out
Previous seeding: Out
The Scarlet Knights are easily the worst team in the conference and have almost no chance of making the NCAA Tournament. However, there is a resolution for Rutgers that would help the conference at large. The Scarlet Knights need to get to No. 160 in the NET so that there aren’t any Quad 4 home games in conference play. No conference game in the B1G is easy enough that a team should effectively be punished for not winning by 20+, and Rutgers needs to generate some progress to get to that point.
