Big Ten men’s basketball power rankings (Feb 11): Penn State sinks to the basement

There were many storylines from the Big Ten conference this past week, two of which being extremely noteworthy.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo tied former Indiana head coach Bob Knight for the most Big Ten conference wins of all time on Saturday. Izzo has a chance to break Knight’s record against Indiana, ironically, as the Spartans host the Hoosiers at the Breslin Center on Tuesday night.

The other biggest Big Ten storyline of the week comes from Bloomington, Indiana, as Mike Woodson will reportedly be stepping down as Indiana head coach following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. 

Indiana sits at 14-10 overall with a 5-8 conference record, extremely underwhelming from a near consensus top-five conference favorite before the season.

The Hoosiers were ranked second in the Big Ten preseason media poll, and have yet to even sniff those lofty expectations. 

Let’s get into the rankings:

Another sweep for Purdue this week, as the Boilermakers have lost just one game since December 21st. Trey Kaufman-Renn posted a total of 49 points this week and has been spearheading the conference’s best team with Braden Smith all season, Purdue has two huge tests this week, starting with a road battle in Ann Arbor, and ending with Wisconsin at home.

Michigan swept the week as well, handling Oregon at home and taking down Indiana in Assembly Hall. Winners of its last four games, the Wolverines were led by Danny Wolf this week. Wolf averaged 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds over Michigan’s last two contests and will need more of those numbers from Wolf against Purdue on Tuesday.

After starting 9-0 in conference play, Michigan State got swept during its California trip but rebounded with a comeback victory against Oregon in East Lansing. Freshman Jase Richardson scored 29 points on 13 shots in the game and has been the breakout star for head coach Tom Izzo.

Since UCLA returned from its two-game road trip against Maryland and Rutgers in mid-January, which included a Mick Cronin ejection, UCLA has won seven consecutive games. The Bruins defeated Michigan State in a close one, then blew the brakes off Penn State this past week. UCLA has not allowed over 61 points to an opponent in its last three games.

Maryland split the week against Ohio State and Rutgers, but have won five of its last six games. Derik Queen has been one of the best freshmen in the country and finished with a career-high 29 points against Rutgers on Sunday.

Wisconsin gets a sweep against Indiana and Iowa this week, surging to 9-4 in conference play. Senior John Tonje has eclipsed 20 points in five of his last six games. Greg Gard wins games, simple as that. I believe the gap from Michigan to Wisconsin is smaller than Wisconsin to this next team.

Illinois has been one of the toughest teams to rank, due to on-and-off injury woes. The Illini lost to Rutgers on the road before defeating Minnesota this week. Illinois is 4-5 in its last nine games and sits outside the top six Big Ten teams.

Ohio State is only 6-7 in conference play, but it’s good enough for a top-eight ranking. The Buckeyes notched a great win against Maryland before losing to a surging Nebraska squad in Lincoln. Senior Micah Parrish cracked 30 points in the Nebraska game, and the Buckeyes have plenty of talent on the roster heading toward March.

Aside from UCLA, Nebraska has been the hottest team in the conference. Winners of four straight games, Nebraska has put itself firmly into the NCAA tournament at the current moment. Senior Brice Williams has scored 23+ points in every game of the winning streak for the Cornhuskers.

Losers of five straight games, Dana Altman’s Ducks have been slumping. Oregon got swept in its Michigan road trip by both schools and has allowed 77+ points in every loss in the streak. However, the Ducks remain comfortably inside the bubble picture.

USC lost both of its games this week to Northwestern and Purdue on the road. However, the Trojans look a lot better than its 5-7 conference record. Freshman Wesley Yates posted 30 points against Purdue, and he’s averaging 12.5 points on 48% shooting on the season. 

The Scarlet Knights have been playing some solid basketball lately. Before losing to Maryland on the road, Rutgers took care of home court against Illinois, Now with freshman Dylan Harper back from injury, the Scarlet Knights are a top 12 team in the conference. Harper posted 28 and 20 points in its two games this week.

Indiana has played itself out of the NCAA tournament, losing five in a row and seven of its last eight. Head coach Mike Woodson will be departing from the program in the offseason, and it’s time to start #SearchSZN in Bloomington. (cc: @CurryHicksSage)

The Hawkeyes have lost six of seven and sit way outside the bubble picture. Star center Owen Freeman is out for the season, and the schedule does not lighten up this week, as Iowa has two quad-one contests against Rutgers and Maryland on the road.

Northwestern has caught the injury bug in the middle of conference play, as Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach are both likely out for the season. At least Nick Martinelli will make an all-Big Ten team!

Minnesota earned a nice win in State College against Penn State before dropping a home game against Illinois. The Golden Gophers head to California this week for a nice week in Hollywood.

Washington has won two of its last three games. It will take time for head coach Danny Sprinkle to rebuild the program. Freshman Zoom Diallo has been fun to watch and will be a key piece for Sprinkle in the foreseeable future.

Penn State ranks dead last and is currently playing the worst basketball among all eighteen Big Ten teams. 1-9 in its last ten games, the Nittany Lions have simply no answer for any basketball team at the moment. The team lacks an identity, effort, heart, passion, and a sense of urgency. No one should get singled out as it has been a full team collapse. 

The losses of Puff Johnson and Yanic Konan-Niderhauser have been brutal, but the team has looked broken and lifeless since the two heartbreaking losses to Iowa and Michigan. Penn State needs to show more hustle and urgency against USC on Tuesday, and a loss would likely steer them out of the Big Ten tournament.