2023-24 Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Week 3

Ethan Carbone gives his Big Ten basketball power rankings heading into week 3 of the 2023 season.

Matchup of the week: Purdue vs Gonzaga

Sneaky good matchup of the week: Memphis Michigan

All games listed are EST

1. Purdue Boilermakers

Last week’s ranking: 1

Record: 3-0

Last week: W vs. Xavier (83-71)

Next week: vs. #11 Gonzaga (Nov. 20 – 5 p.m.), vs. #7 Tennessee OR Syracuse (Nov. 21 – 2:30/8 p.m.), TBA (Nov. 22 – 5 p.m.)

Quality wins: Xavier 

Bad losses: N/A

The Boilermakers played a power opponent for the first time who was without their best player and still managed to be played relatively close. Purdue was able to of course dominate the inside as Zach Edey got himself 28 points. Purdue enters the Maui tournament with their biggest test of the season so far later today against Gonzaga.

2. Illinois Fighting Illini

Last week’s ranking: 2

Record: 4-1

Last week: L vs. #4 Marquette (71-64), W vs. Valparaiso (87-64), W vs Southern (88-60)

Next week: vs. Western Illinois (Nov. 24 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

The only reason Illinois hasn’t moved down in my rankings is because at least they’ve come back to win two of these past three games and the one they lost was against Marquette. The Illini seem to start slow every game and they’ll need to figure it out this week before heading into next week’s hectic schedule.

3. Michigan Wolverines

Last week’s ranking: 3

Record: 3-1

Last week: W at St Johns (89-73), L vs. Long Beach State (94-86)

Next week: Memphis (Nov. 22 – 5 p.m.), vs. Arkansas OR Stanford  (Nov. 23 – TBA), TBA (Nov. 24 – TBA)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Long Beach State

Michigan dominated St Johns as Nimari Burnett scored 21 points in Madison Square Garden to put them away. Then after a solid win Michigan took on Long Beach State a team that lost to Portland and still lost to them. The game was decided in the final two minutes of play in which Long Beach stepped up when it mattered most and Michigan fell in the clutch.

4. Michigan State Spartans

Last week’s ranking: 4

Record: 3-2

Last week: L vs. #9 Duke (74-65), W vs. Butler (74-54), W vs. Alcorn State (81-49)

Next week: vs. #3 Arizona (Nov 23 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

Michigan State is battling back up these rankings and had they beat JMU they would be in the two spot easily. However, nobody has none good enough for me to move them down and they haven’t exactly impressed beating up on two teams they were expected to. Against Butler, Tyson Walker showed why he’s all Big Ten level scoring 21 points on 53.8% shooting.

5. Iowa Hawkeyes

Last week’s ranking: 5

Record: 3-1

Last week: L at #8 Creighton (92-84), W vs. Arkansas State (88-74)

Next week: vs. Oklahoma (Nov. 23 – 3 p.m.), vs. Seton Hall OR USC (Nov. 24 – 9 p.m.), 

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

 I know its boring seeing the same top five however there isn’t much room for movement as in the past week Iowa continued the theme of beating teams they were supposed to and losing to those they were the underdogs for. Ben Krikke averaged 24.5 PPG over the two games this week as the transfer big is finding his home nicely in the Fran McCaffery system.

6. Northwestern Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 7 (+1)

Record: 4-1

Last week: W vs. Rhode Island (72-61), L vs. Mississippi State (66-57)

Next week: N/A

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

Northwestern played hard against Rhode Island and were able to come out with a win partially thanks to Brooks Barnhizer’s 18 points, however the Wildcats fell short to Mississippi State. They completely collapsed in the final eight minutes of play and shot an abysmal 37.7% from the field as a team.

7. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Last week’s ranking: 11 (+4)

Record: 5-0 (0-0)

Last week: W vs. Rider (64-50), W vs. Stonybrook (84-63), W vs. Oregon State (84-63)

Next week: vs Duquesne (Nov. 22 – 8 p.m.), vs Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 26 – 3 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

Nebraska is 5-0 and this may be an overreaction however an undefeated team with a win against a power six school sounds like a top-half team. Brice Williams, Rienk Mast, and Keisei Tominaga look to be a formidable trio as they attempt to keep their streak going later this week. 

8. Wisconsin Badgers

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-2)

Record: 2-2

Last week: L at Providence (72-59), W vs. Robert Morris (78-68)

Next week: vs. Virginia (Nov. 20 – 6 p.m.), vs SMU OR West Virginia (Nov. 22 – TBA)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

Had the game against Providence been anywhere besides Providence Wisconsin may be lower however due to the difficulty of playing in their home court Wisconsin deserves some credit. Against Robert Morris Wisconsin struggled to hit the outside shot shooting 3-for-13 as they played it a bit close until they pulled away in thanks to freshman John Blackwell, and Steven Crowl. 

9. Ohio State Buckeyes

Last week’s ranking: 9 

Record: 3-1

Last week: W  vs. Merrimack 76-52), Western Michigan (73-56)

Next week: vs. Alabama (Nov. 24 –  7 p.m.), vs. Oregon OR Santa Clara (Nov. 25 – TBA)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

Had Ohio State won by less they would’ve been moved lower however they dominated teams that they were expected to dominate against. Rodney Gayle Jr. was the highest-scoring player in the past two games for the Buckeyes and against Merrimack, he shot an impressive 8-for-12 from the floor.

10. Indiana Hoosiers

Last week’s ranking: 8 (-2)

Record: 3-1

Last week: W vs. Wright State (89-80), L vs. #5 UConn (77-57)

Next week: vs. Louisville (Nov. 20 – 4:30 p.m.), vs. Harvard (Nov. 26 – 4:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

The Hoosiers beat Wright State and never were losing at any point in the game although Wright State was without Trey Calvin, their first option on offense. The Hoosiers then went and took on UConn. They were blown out by the Huskies and now get to take on Louisville who nearly beat Texas.

11. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Last week’s ranking: 10  (-1)

Record: 4-1

Last week: W  vs. Georgetown (71-60), W vs Howard (85-63)

Next week: N/A

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Princeton

After losing their opening game, Rutgers has stormed back for four straight wins and has looked good against an Ed Cooley-coached Georgetown team and a MEAC favorite in Howard. No games this week for the Scarlet Knights, though they may be able to move up in the power rankings next week by default.

12. Penn State Nittany Lions

Last week’s ranking: 12

Record: 4-0

Last week: W vs. Saint Francis PA (83-53), W vs. Morehead State (74-51)

Next week: vs. Texas A&M (Nov. 23 – Noon), vs. Butler OR FAU (Nov. 24 – 11 a.m./ 1:30 p.m.), TBA (Nov. 25 – TBA)

Quality wins: N/A

Penn State continues winning and dominating games that they are supposed to. Kanye Clary has looked like an all-Big Ten player so far averaging 17.5 PPG so has Qudus Wahab averaging 11 PPG and 12.3 RPG. The dynamic duo plays a top 100 Kenpom team for the first time this season and that will either keep them at the bottom or see them soar to the top.

13. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Last week’s ranking: 13

Record: 3-1

Last week: W vs. Missouri (70-68), W vs. South Carolina Upstate (67-53)

Next week: at San Francisco (Nov. 26 – 8:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

Minnesota stays put at 13 and had they managed to get the win over Missouri then they would have been at 12. Dawson Garcia continues to rock this world with 18.8 PPG and 9.0 RPG as the Golden Gophers head to San Francisco in hopes of making themselves 4-1.

14. Maryland Terrapins 

Last week’s ranking: N/A

Record: 1-3

Last week: L at Villanova (57-40)

Next week: vs. UMBC (Nov. 21 – 7 p.m.), vs South Alabama (Nov. 25 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

Maryland has now lost three straight and only scored 40 points at Villanova as the Terrapins need to get back on track if they want to make a postseason tournament.