Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings (12/05/23)

Power Rankings

14) Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State suffered another crushing defeat this week, falling to Bucknell at home. Given their opponent’s poor ranking (314th on KenPom), it’s difficult to gauge just how significant this defeat will be for Penn State moving forward; they will almost certainly never recover from such a setback.

13) Maryland Terrapins

Maryland had an up-and-down week. Maryland started with a victory against Rider at home on Tuesday before falling by double digits at Indiana on the road on Thursday – leaving Maryland at 4-4 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play. It may be time to hit the panic button in Maryland.

12) Minnesota Golden Gophers

The Minnesota Gophers endured an underwhelming week. Although Minnesota started by beating New Orleans on Thursday, they lost at Ohio State on Sunday – dropping them to 5-3 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play.

11) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers had an uneven week. Starting by defeating Saint Peter’s in their own house on Monday, Rutgers followed that up by falling to Illinois by double digits on Saturday – ending up at 5-1 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play.

10) Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines like to shoot the three-pointer, this past week saw them get blown out by Texas Tech and lose a heartbreaker against Oregon.

9) Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa was dominated at Purdue on Monday night and faces a tough rest of the week as they will face Iowa State and Michigan the rest of this week, a split in these two games is a must.

8) Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Nebraska Huskers lost in its only game this season on Sunday against Creighton at home, falling by an overwhelming score of 89-60. Creighton outclassed Nebraska in scoring and defense with 1.24 points per possession from their offense.

7) Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State was victorious in their only matchup last week, easily defeating Georgia Southern at home on Tuesday by 31 points to improve to 4-3 overall.

Michigan State will face two difficult opponents this week – Wisconsin at home on Tuesday and Nebraska away on Sunday. These games might not seem daunting initially; however, both squads have shown significant improvement recently and taking both would make a monumental statement about Michigan State’s improvement.

6) Indiana Hoosiers

The Indiana Hoosiers had an outstanding week, winning their home opener against Maryland on Friday to improve to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play. Furthermore, this win reversed Indiana’s slide on KenPom rankings, moving them back up from 80th to 68th nationally!

Indiana faces two challenging games this week against Michigan (on the road) on Tuesday and Auburn in Atlanta on Saturday, according to KenPom the Hoosiers are underdogs for both contests. But Michigan has proven itself susceptible, so fans should at least hope for a split result from these contests.

5) Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin had another tremendous week, taking down Western Illinois at home on Monday before pulling off an incredible upset of Marquette on Saturday in front of thousands of screaming fans rushing the court! These victories improved Wisconsin to 6-2 overall as they prepare to enter Big Ten play this month.

4) Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois had an outstanding week, claiming their only road victory of the season against Rutgers on Saturday to improve to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play. Furthermore, Illinois has now won four straight games against weak opposition.

Illinois will have two marquee matches this week against Florida Atlantic in New York and Tennessee on the road; KenPom currently lists Illinois as underdogs in both games so even splitting would be an encouraging result.

3) Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern enjoyed an outstanding week, defeating Northern Illinois at home on Monday before coming away victorious against top-ranked Purdue with an upset on Friday – prompting a court-storming celebration after Boo Buie led them with 31 points, nine assists, and four rebounds – which marked Northwestern’s second straight year with an upset of Purdue.

2) Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State had another impressive week of play, defeating Central Michigan and Minnesota by double-digit margins at home to improve to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten action. They have won six straight since a brief misstep against Texas A&M early in the season.

1) Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers were upset at Northwestern for the second straight season, showing serious defensive weaknesses and missing several shots at the basket. Still, with three wins already under their belt at the Maui Invitational Tournament, it will be difficult for anyone else to dethrone Purdue from its top spot. Purdue dominated Iowa on Monday night to get back on track.