Tom Izzo entered his 30th season with hopes of rebounding off a first weekend exit in the 2024 NCAA tournament. Let’s just say the Spartans are flying high so far this season. This is a unique Michigan State team, built on grit, toughness and teamwork. The Spartans have just one player, Jaden Akins, averaging double-digit points.
After Akins, there are six Spartans averaging between seven and ten points per game. No one on the team averages more than 27 minutes per contest while ten players average more than 14 minutes.
Michigan State holds college basketball’s second longest winning streak with 12, just trailing Duke’s 13. They are No. 1 in KenPom offensive and defensive efficiency in conference play, all while shooting a mere 28.7% from three as a team.
That’s not Izzo’s philosophy with his 2024-25 Spartans. They’re a lengthy, hard nosed basketball team that plays with full effort every possession. The team is 3rd in the country in free-throw percentage, and on the defensive end are just allowing Big Ten opponents to 26.5% shooting from three.
The Spartans slide in at No. 1 in this week’s ranking as the only undefeated team left. They battle Minnesota at home on Tuesday before traveling to Los Angeles with meetings with USC and UCLA. It would be very impressive if they come home with a sweep, and expect nothing less from this fiery Izzo squad.
Purdue slots in at No. 2. A brutal home loss to Ohio State was rebounded by a great blowout win over Michigan at Mackey. Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn are one of the best duos in college basketball, and I’m not moving them off No. 2 even with the loss to Ohio State.
Wisconsin surges to No. 3 with a really solid week. After a narrow loss to UCLA in Los Angeles early in the week, the Badgers rebounded with a blowout win over Nebraska. Greg Gard has his team in a great spot, and John Tonje and John Blackwell have been terrific in leading this team so far this season.
Michigan stays at No. 4 but suffered a blowout loss to Purdue. I’m still high on the Wolverines because they have a great coach in Dusty May, and have a ton of talent on the roster to beat any team in this conference on any given night.
Maryland ranks No. 5 after a blowout win over Illinois in Champaign, then a great win in Bloomington on a Rodney Rice game-winning three. Look out Big Ten teams, the Terps are catching fire.
Illinois comes in at No. 6 after a home loss to Maryland and a win over Northwestern. Star center Tomislav Ivisic missed Illinois’s two games this week, providing the Illini with a brutal blow in the heart of conference play.
UCLA follows at No. 7 after two wins over Wisconsin and Washington last week. Mick Cronin’s crew has been a lot better after its four-game losing streak, winning three in a row. Bruins leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau left last game with an ankle injury, but it does not appear to be a long-term absence.
Oregon and Ohio State follow at 8 and 9. Oregon suffered a poor loss at Minnesota over the weekend, but the Golden Gophers are currently rolling. Ohio State had the best win of the week over Purdue, but are just 3-5 in conference play so far. They’ve been a roller coaster this season, and slot in at the middle of the ranking.
Indiana and USC rank at No. 10 and 11. Indiana got swept this week by Northwestern and Maryland, steering them down the standings. USC has been playing some good basketball recently, and the team is coming together nicely led by Desmond Claude. They have a great opportunity to keep it up on Monday, hosting UCLA.
Penn State rolls in at No. 12 with a win over Rutgers and a one-point loss to Iowa on the road last week. The Nittany Lions’s last three losses have been by a combined seven points, but the team will need more wins over the next few weeks to have any chance at March Madness, and they have have a tough one against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Monday night.
Iowa slots just below Penn State at No. 13. The Hawkeyes suffered a brutal home loss to Minnesota, and just barely escaped Penn State at home. The defense is a real concern, and their tournament aspirations are slipping away.
Northwestern’s No. 14 ranking comes after a good win against Indiana at home, succeeded by a road loss against Illinois. Chris Collins’s squad is playing solid basketball, but their ceiling in this conference is not very high.
Minnesota has won three impressive games in a row and move up a few spots to No. 15. Dawson Garcia is easily an All-Big Ten player, and is carrying the Golden Gophers out of the bottom of the conference.
Rutgers struggled this week and slide to No. 16. The season looks depressing after two losses to Penn State and Michigan State, as the team just has extremely limited answers outside of Ace Bailey, meanwhile Dylan Harper is now nursing an ankle injury.
Nebraska tumbles to No. 17 after a horrid last few weeks. The Cornhuskers are struggling mightily on both ends, and they have not won a game since January 4th.
Washington comes in last at No. 18. Not much to say here, but with their lack of talent and crazy travel schedule from the Pacific Northwest, it’s difficult to see them having a chance to even make the conference tournament.