Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings 12/10/24

18. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota is back at the bottom of the Big Ten Conference following a decisive loss to Indiana and Michigan State to start their conference schedule. KenPom does not rank them within its top 100 rankings. After their 6-5 start, which includes losses to North Texas, Wichita State, Wake Forest, Indiana, and Michigan State, little optimism exists for Minnesota’s chances this season.

17. Washington Huskies

Washington and Minnesota appear destined to battle it out all season for the last spot in these rankings. Washington started off conference play with losses to UCLA and USC this past week, falling by scores of 69-58 against UCLA and 85-61 to an underachieving USC squad, respectively.

16. USC Trojans

USC’s victory against Washington was significant following their defeat against Oregon, which extended their three-game losing streak and dropped them to 5-4 overall. USC faced significant roster turnover after hiring former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman as their offseason hire; rebuilding won’t happen immediately, but victories over lower-ranked opponents such as Washington are key in maintaining momentum.

15. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Many expected a breakthrough with the addition of five-star freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, but that has yet to materialize into significant wins for their teams. But that may change over time; perhaps this group will come into its own over time.

14. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska lost to Michigan State by almost 40 points (89-52). That result put an abrupt halt to Fred Hoiberg’s impressive start, dropping them down the KenPom rankings to No. 61—well out of reach of any elite-tier conference teams.

13. Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern was only an Iowa 30-footer away from making a statement week, yet still managed to split its two games, including a win over Illinois at home. Forward Nick Martinelli (20.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game) was fantastic against Illinois, dropping 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting! Chris Collins appears to have put together a formidable Wildcats squad even without Boo Buie on their roster.

12. Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa had two close games this past week that came down to the wire; both saw one shot go in (vs. Northwestern) and one miss (vs. Michigan), which can be described as coin-flip results. Even so, the Hawkeyes teams performed admirably overall – Michigan is currently one of the premier teams in their conference. At the same time, sophomore forward Owen Freeman has become their go-to option with average per-game averages of 16.8 points and seven rebounds.

11. Ohio State Buckeyes

Many Big Ten teams traded 1-1 records this past week. Ohio State’s 83-59 road loss at Maryland raised some red flags; which led to a significant drop in these rankings for the Buckeyes.

10. Indiana Hoosiers

The Hoosiers have gained impressive victories against Providence and South Carolina but suffered ass-kickings against Louisville and Gonzaga – leaving much to be determined as to their true quality. The Hoosiers looked good last night against Minnesota, but it was Minnesota, so we shall see.

9. Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois fell in its only result last week – an overtime loss against Northwestern. If Illinois can come back strong in against No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 3 Tennessee, that result will soon become irrelevant. We may need to see it for ourselves with the 2024-25 Fighting Illini, I do not think this team is anywhere near last season’s.

8. Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin had maybe the best start to the season of any team in the Big Ten. Unfortunately, that momentum abruptly halted following narrow home losses to Michigan and Marquette. While their subpar week may have decreased expectations of conference contention, hopefully, this week’s matches against Illinois and Butler can help rebalance them and turn out victories!

7. Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State may be surprising us this season – they’re 8-1 so far and recently beat Purdue at home! Expectations were somewhat subdued after Mike Rhoades’ team went 16-17 in its inaugural year under him. Yet, his Nittany Lions appear poised for an uptick under KenPom and are currently No. 33 overall, 9th in Big Ten Conference play.

6. Maryland Terrapins

Maryland has advanced to 19 in KenPom after an impressive week. Even their five-point road loss against Purdue won’t detract from this strong showing, especially following their 24-point win against Ohio State a week prior. Kevin Willard appears closer to fielding a team like 2022-23’s victorious squad than one that struggled last season.

5. UCLA Bruins

After defeating Washington and Oregon in consecutive games, UCLA now ranks No. 14 in KenPom rankings after their impressive week. The Bruins are a legitimate threat to win the Big Ten.

4. Purdue Boilermakers

Trey Kaufman-Renn (18.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists), Fletcher Loyer (13.7 points and 2.4 rebounds) and Braden Smith (13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists) led the team.

Penn State’s loss to Penn State highlights how far removed they are from being the team that played in the 2024 national title game and opens up opportunities for multiple other teams to seize the conference crown.

3. Michigan Wolverines

Michigan is off to an impressive start under Dusty May, as evidenced by its statement week performance led by big men Vladislav Goldin (12 points, 5.4 rebounds per game) and Danny Wolf (12.1 points, 10 rebounds, 2.9 assists). Wolf is one of the early candidates for conference player of the year with 33 points, 21 rebounds, six assists, six blocks and three steals during just two wins for Michigan this year alone! His all-around play makes Michigan competitive now.

2. Oregon Ducks

Oregon will likely suffer for its loss to UCLA, though they appear among the best teams in the conference. However, this loss should not eclipse Oregon’s impressive early wins against No. 9 Alabama and No. 20 Texas A&M; Oregon has shown itself to be among the Big Ten’s premier teams through five weeks.

1. Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State had an outstanding week. They defeated Minnesota before knocking off a Nebraska team 89-52 that had been playing well. The Spartans are shooting up everybody’s rankings in KenPom’s rankings and ESPN BPI rankings to 22 and 21, respectively.