The fight for the Big Ten regular season has come down to a handful of teams. This conference is unforgivable, especially when any team can go out and win on any given night. Currently, the Michigan Wolverines control their destiny in the Big Ten Conference race. The Wolverines are one game ahead of rival Michigan State for the conference lead. They also have stormed to the top of Big Ten basketball in 2024-25.
The Big Ten could be decided this week, especially with the Spartans facing both Purdue and Michigan. So, we will see if they can hold the top spot for the long haul. Let’s dive into this week’s Big Ten power rankings.
Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Michigan Storms to the Top
18. Penn State (13-13, 3-12)
What a rough year it has turned out to be for the Nittany Lions. After returning key players across the board, including Ace Baldwin Jr, Nick Kern, and Puff Johnson, things have surprisingly taken a major swing in the wrong direction. Now, Penn State finds itself clearly at the bottom of the Big Ten. With only a handful of weeks left, it appears the Nittany Lions won’t be making the Big Ten tournament this year. That’s not good for coach Mike Rhoades.
17. Northwestern (13-13, 4-11)
Blowing a lead against Nebraska was the kill shot on the season for the Wildcats. What more can Northwestern do? They’ve lost two very important players to season-ending injuries. There certainly isn’t much left to play for, especially for a team that seemed like they could’ve fought to make the NCAA Tournament or at least have a winning record.
16. Washington (13-12, 4-10)
The Huskies have gone through trials and tribulations in year one of the Big Ten, but to say they are still right in the hunt to make the Big Ten tournament is huge. They were able to beat Penn State at home, in the first-ever meeting between the teams. They face Rutgers and Iowa this week, which are the two teams right ahead of them in the standings. The Huskies need DJ Davis to deliver as he did against the Nittany Lions.
MASSIVE. @DJ_Davis22 coming up clutch!
Watch on @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/uJ08qH183c
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) February 15, 2025
15. Rutgers (12-14, 5-10)
Since beating Illinois, the Scarlet Knights have dropped three straight games. The last couple have been even worse because they were against Iowa and Oregon, who have both been struggling over the last month. The super-star tandem of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey has disappeared down the stretch. For two guys who were being talked about as possibly being the best in the Big Ten, they haven’t lived up in conference play. Unfortunately, coach Pickiell is on the hot seat.
14. Iowa (14-11, 5-9)
The Hawkeyes had their best moment in a while this past week; they finally won a Big Ten road game. But that didn’t keep them going, as they got completely manhandled by Maryland the very next game. For a team that has been a high-scoring team, the lack of production against the Terps was awful to see. Four of their next six games are against NCAA tournament-caliber teams, which includes games against Illinois and Michigan State. Things could only get worse for Fran McCaffrey’s team.
13. Minnesota (13-12, 5-9)
Who would’ve thought the Golden Gophers were going to climb from the basement of the Big Ten power rankings, even a couple of weeks ago? Minnesota basketball has been doing some work. For a team that started conference play 0-6, winning five of their last eight games has been impressive. Add in that they are one of only two teams in the Big Ten to beat Michigan thus far. Getting a road win at USC was very impressive as well. Dawson Garcia has proven to be a star, as he is one of the leaders in the Big Ten in scoring at 19.2 per game.
Started the road trip off with a W ✅
Check out the highlights from yesterday's comeback win over USC 🎥 pic.twitter.com/CrBxjg1lF5
— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) February 16, 2025
12. USC (14-11, 6-8)
Losing at home to Minnesota certainly has the Trojans returning to the drawing board. Since beating Michigan State, USC has been struggling to score enough points to keep up with teams getting red-hot from the three. That was no different against the Gophers; this Trojan team is bizarre, to say the least.
11. Indiana (15-11, 6-9)
Speaking of a bizarre team, the Hoosiers take the cake. After upsetting Michigan State on their home floor last Tuesday, Indiana returned home and blew another huge opportunity against UCLA. After a huge performance at MSU, Oumar Ballo went quiet again against the Bruins. Why Mike Woodson can win one game but not the next is beyond me. They had UCLA right where they wanted them, but they couldn’t take advantage of it.
10. Ohio State (15-11, 7-8)
The Buckeyes had Michigan right where they wanted them. In a back-and-forth dogfight, Ohio State couldn’t get the game-tying shot. Bruce Thornton put Michigan’s Danny Wolf on ice skates but couldn’t hit a wide-open floater. The miss all but summed up the season for the Buckeyes. Had that shot gone in, who knows how a possible overtime would’ve shaken out. All it did was keep OSU clearly on the NCAA tournament bubble.
Bruce Thornton put Danny Wolf on skates but airballs the look 🤯
Michigan SURVIVES in Columbus 👀pic.twitter.com/dPGFaZiBPT
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 16, 2025
9. Oregon (18-8, 7-8)
Since losing five straight games, the Ducks have returned to form. Then again, they returned to Eugene for their last two games. Plus, those games were against worn-down Northwestern and Rutgers. Jackson Shelstad continues to find his next level of impact. That included a career-high 26 points against the Wildcats. He followed it up with 19 against the Scarlet Knights.
8. Nebraska (17-9, 7-8)
The Cornhuskers sure looked like they were ready to take another massive step downward in the Big Ten power rankings. They sure couldn’t get much going in the first half against Northwestern this past weekend. Somehow, they weathered the storm to escape with a four-point win.
7. Illinois (17-9, 9-7)
On a night, they honored Terrance Shannon Jr by hanging his jersey in the rafters, although it was embarrassingly upside down for some reason, the Illini completely fell apart. For all the talk of beating Michigan State in Champaign, it didn’t happen. A 16-point first-half lead wasn’t enough for Illinois. Not to mention, they went scoreless for the final eight minutes of the game. Illinois basketball has some problems, and they aren’t getting addressed clearly. Nevertheless, they are one of the more talented teams in the conference, and they will likely end up in the NCAA tournament.
Timberwolves rookie Terrance Shannon Jr. had his number retired at the University of Illinois last night.
One problem: they raised it upside down, which wasn’t fixed until the end of the game. pic.twitter.com/U6X9TvYNzE
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) February 16, 2025
6. UCLA (19-7, 10-5)
The 10-plus-win club in Big Ten basketball this season is full of some of the most notable programs in the whole country. That is no different for the Bruins, as they have proven to be right in the thick of the fight in 2024-25. Besides a slip-up at Illinois, UCLA has won eight of its last nine games. Getting a win on a road in a hostile environment at Assembly Hall in Bloomington was big.
5. Maryland (20-6, 10-5)
Don’t look now, but the Terps are on fire. Maryland basketball struck gold with Derik Queen. He’s a superstar in the making, especially in his last three games, where he has scored 18 or more points. That included an impressive 29 against Rutgers. Ja’Kobi Gilespie was huge in the Terps blowout win against Iowa as well.
4. Wisconsin (20-5, 10-4)
John Tonje and the Badgers rolled into Mackey Arena with all the confidence in the world, and what do you know, it worked. Wisconsin was able to take down Purdue in West Lafayette; that was a huge win for Wisconsin. Ultimately, Wisconsin is surging at the right time, and they could be a dangerous team in March.
Michigan
3. Purdue (19-7, 11-4)
Two losses in a row for Purdue has them down to third in the Big Ten. However, they get a chance to get right back in the fight, as they visit Michigan State. Fletcher Loyer has to find a way to replicate the impact he made against the Spartans in both meetings last season. Tuesday night’s clash is huge.
2. Michigan State (20-5, 11-3)
The Spartans went 1-1 last week. An ugly home loss against Indiana was quickly washed away by Michigan State’s 79-65 win at Illinois. Jaxon Kohler delivered an outstanding performance as the Spartans kept the Illini from scoring the final eight minutes of a game in which they trailed by 16. Kohler finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, he also made four threes. It certainly looked like a performance like former Izzo players AJ Granger and Goran Suton had in the past. Not to mention, Izzo passed Bob Knight for the Big Ten all-time wins in the victory.
Think Jaxon Kohler knew how big his effort play was? 😤
The @MSU_Basketball F's clutch And-1 in Saturday's historic win at Illinois is our #B1GMBBall 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠.
📍 @OldTrapper pic.twitter.com/sC2ugkDBBL
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 17, 2025
1. Michigan (20-5, 12-2)
The Big Ten sure feels like Michigan’s to win. They are 12-2 and have now won six straight games. Not to mention, they are just straight-up tough. Michigan has been in so many close games, and they have found ways to pull it out. This week will prove what they are; they get rival Michigan State in town for the first of two meetings. Overall, Michigan is certainly in the driver’s seat right now.
Photo credit: © Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
