2024-25 Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Week 8

2. UCLA Bruins

Last week’s ranking: 2 (-)

Record: (10-2, 2-0)

Last Week: W vs. Prairie View (111-75), L at North Carolina (74-76)

Next Week: vs. #14 Gonzaga (Dec. 28 – 4 p.m. )

Quality Wins: at Oregon

Bad Losses: N/A

UCLA’s win at Oregon keeps them in the #2 spot despite their loss at Madison Square Garden against North Carolina this past week. UCLA led by 16 points with just over 12 minutes to play. However, a 12-2 burst over just two and a half minutes brought the Tar Heels back into the game. UCLA scored just nine points over the final eight minutes of the game, allowing UNC to come from behind. Looking at this loss in the bigger picture, it really is not that detrimental to the Bruins. It is just their second loss of the season, and they are still ranked as the #22 team in the nation.

3. Oregon Ducks

Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)

Record: (11-1, 1-1)

Last week: W vs. Stanford (76-61)

Next Week: vs. Weber State (Dec. 29 – 5 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Alabama, vs. Texas A&M, vs. San Diego State

Bad Losses: N/A

I had the Ducks on upset alert going on the road to play Stanford, but they proved me wrong. While Maxime Raynaud was able to score 20 points and grab 13 rebounds for Stanford, the Ducks limited production elsewhere on the floor. Every other starter was held to six or fewer points. The Ducks were very strong coming out of the gate, carrying a 76-61 lead into the half. They have reached #9 in the AP Top 25. Look out for the Oregon Ducks.

4. Illinois Fighting Illini

Last week’s ranking: 5 (+1)

Record: (8-3, 1-1)

Last Week: W at Missouri (80-77)

Next Week: vs. Chicago State (Dec. 29 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Arkansas, vs. Wisconsin

Bad losses: N/A

Illinois handed Missouri their first loss since the beginning of November. Kasparas Jakucionis scored 21 points. The freshman has scored at least 20 points in each of his last six games and is making a strong case to be Freshmen of the Year. Illinois’ center, Tomislav Ivisic, has secured ten or more rebounds in each of his last six games, recording a double-double in four of those games. There is danger all over the floor for the Fighting Illini, who reentered the AP Top 25 at #24 following their win over Missouri.

5. Michigan Wolverines

Last week’s ranking: 5 (-1)

Record: (9-3, 2-0)

Last Week: L at #14 Oklahoma (86-87), W vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (89-58)

Next Week: vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 29 – 8 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Wisconsin, at Xavier

Bad losses: N/A

Fouling on a three-pointer down by three with eleven seconds remaining is absolutely inexcusable. Roddy Gayle Jr. probably had some suicides to run the next practice, as Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears made the three and the free throw for the four-point play to catapult the Sooners to an 87-86 lead. Just like UCLA’s loss, this should not damage the Wolverines in the big picture. However, it does drop them to 9-3 and leads them dangerously close to the bubble in my way-too-early bracketology.

6. Maryland Terrapins

Last week’s ranking: 7 (+1)

Record: (10-2, 1-1)

Last Week: W vs. St. Francis PA (111-57), W at Syracuse (87-60)

Next Week: vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore (Dec. 28 – Noon)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

A new threat has emerged for the Terrapins, as Selton Miguel scored 24 points in both games this past week, blowing by his previous season-high of 15 points. They have continued to start fast, rocketing out to a 43-17 first half lead on the road against Syracuse. They have held opponents this season to just 60.7 points per game and have an average point differential of +27.1. Has it been against high caliber opponents all season? No. Is it still impressive? Yes.

7. Wisconsin Badgers

Last week’s ranking: 8 (+1)

Record: (10-3, 0-2)

Last Week: W vs. Detroit Mercy (76-53)

Next Week: N/A

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

The Badgers finally got Steven Crowl going, as he posted 33 points over the past two games. Crowl had just one double-digit scoring performance in the first 11 games of the season. Fellow big man Nolan Winter was even more impressive, as he has scored 53 points in three games, including 18 points against Detroit Mercy. Crowl and Winter took some production away from the guards. Even so, Max Klesmit’s 0-for-5 shooting performance was slightly alarming, as he has been inconsistent all season long. It seems like the Badgers are close to putting all the pieces back together after suffering three straight losses following their 8-0 start.

8. Penn State Nittany Lions

Last week’s ranking: 9 (+1)

Record: (10-2, 1-1)

Last Week: W at Drexel (75-64)

Next week: vs. Pennsylvania (Dec. 29 – 1 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Purdue

Bad losses: N/A

A huge win versus #8 Purdue remains Penn State’s highlight of the season. Losses to Clemson and Rutgers were not ideal, but they were both close games. Penn State remains in a great position to make a run after starting the season at 10-2. I am not going to bother breaking down an 11-point win over Drexel. They continue to face small schools from Philadelphia as they take on Penn. My sister just got into Penn. Go Penn!

9. Ohio State Buckeyes

Last week’s ranking: 14 (+5)

Record: (8-4, 1-1)

Last Week: W vs. Valparaiso (95-73), W at #4 Kentucky (85-65)

Next Week: vs. Indiana State (Dec. 29 – 12 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Kentucky, at Texas

Bad losses: N/A

Consistency would be the last word I would use to describe Ohio State this season. The Buckeyes did not just upset the Wildcats in the Big Apple… they embarrassed them. Bruce Thornton led the charge with 30 points. The supporting cast (which has been the issue this year) stepped up to give Ohio State a marquee win. Other than Thornton, Ohio State’s other starters are all transfers, which likely explains the inconsistency early on this season. First-year head coach Jake Diebler has proven that the Buckeyes have a high ceiling.

10. Purdue Boilermakers

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-4)

Record: (8-4, 1-1)

Last Week: L at #2 Auburn (69-87)

Next Week: vs. Toledo (Dec. 29 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Alabama, at Ole Miss

Bad losses: at Penn State

Purdue has now lost back-to-back games against two ranked SEC opponents. Purdue looked uncompetitive against Auburn. Camden Heide and Trey Kauffman-Renn have not been a viable solution to step into a vacant center role. An intriguing option is 7’2″ center Will Berg, but Berg has played just 9.4 minutes per game. Regardless, it is clear that Purdue must try and switch things up, because as of now, they do not have a proper center (or comparable forward) in their starting five.

11. Iowa Hawkeyes

Last week’s ranking: 10 (-1)

Record: (9-3, 1-1)

Last Week: W vs. Utah (95-88)

Next Week: vs. New Hampshire (Dec. 30 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

Iowa’s offense was firing on all cylinders against Utah. Every starter had at least 12 points, and star forward Payton Sandfort had 24 points. The Hawkeyes were very efficient, going 34-for-64 from the field and 9-for-20 on their three-pointers. Iowa is not going to be a fun team to play.

12. Northwestern Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 11 (-1)

Record: (9-3, 1-1)

Last Week: W vs. DePaul (84-64)

Next Week: vs. Northeastern (Dec. 29 – 1:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Illinois

Bad losses: N/A

Northwestern appears to have a high floor and a low ceiling. They average less than ten turnovers per game and have a positive rebounding margin. Wins over DePaul, Georgia Tech, and UNLV were all solid wins, and they had their best win of the season over #19 Illinois. The Wildcats are a three-headed monster on the floor. Nick Martinelli (20.6 ppg), Brooks Barnhizer (19.9 ppg), and Jalen Leach (14.3 ppg) make up 54.8 out of 73.8 points per game as a team.

13. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Last week’s ranking: 12 (-1)

Record: (9-2, 1-1)

Last Week: W at Murray State (66-49), W at Hawaii (69-55)

Next week: vs. Oregon State (Dec. 25 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. Southern University (Dec. 30 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Creighton, vs. Indiana

Bad losses: N/A

Nebraska decided to keep busy during the holidays, playing in the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. The Cornhuskers have enjoyed their time away from the cold midwest so far, taking down Murray State and Hawaii in the first two rounds. Brice Williams had 32 points against Hawaii, scoring more than 30 in two of his last three games. They play Oregon State in the Diamond Head Classic final on Christmas and are favored by four points. If there was an award for “team to exceed expectations in 2024,” Nebraska would likely win the award.

14. Indiana Hoosiers

Last week’s ranking: 13 (-1)

Record: (9-3, 1-1)

Last Week: W vs. Chattanooga (74-65)

Next Week: vs. Winthrop (Dec. 29 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: vs. Louisville

Indiana’s win over Chattanooga was short of impressive. Chattanooga led for most of the first half before Indiana’s physicality became too much to handle. Indiana won the rebounding battle 36-25. They went 50 percent from the field, but just 25 percent from three. Given that Indiana has played just one ranked opponent in 2024 (#3 Gonzaga), 9-3 was not the record they envisioned to be at right now.

15. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Last week’s ranking: 15 (-)

Record: (7-5, 1-1)

Last Week: L vs. Princeton (82-83)

Next Week: vs. Columbia (Dec. 30 – 5 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: at Kennesaw State

The Big Ten should not lose to the Ivy League. Period. I cannot get over just how much this Rutgers team centers around two freshmen, but that was the gameplan Rutgers had coming into the season. That gameplan has not worked. We will see if Rutgers can get their revenge against fellow Ivy League opponent Columbia on Monday.

16. USC Trojans

Last week’s ranking: 16 (-)

Record: (9-4, 1-1)

Last Week: W vs. CS Northridge (90-69), W vs. Southern University (82-51)

Next Week: N/A

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

USC beat two colleges that most readers have likely never heard of. Moving on.

17. Washington Huskies

Last week’s ranking: 17 (-)

Record: (8-4, 0-2)

Last Week: L vs. Seattle (70-79)

Next Week: vs. New Jersey Tech (Dec. 29 – 3 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: vs. USC, vs. Seattle

It is time to set off the panic alarm in Washington. Their loss to Seattle might be the worst loss any team in the Big Ten has suffered this season. Great Osobor and Tyler Harris combined for 39 points, but the rest of the team was miserably inefficient.

18. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Last week’s ranking: 18 (-)

Record: (7-5, 0-2)

Last Week: W vs. Farleigh Dickinson (74-60)

Next Week: vs. Morgan State (Dec. 29 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: vs. North Texas

A win over Farleigh Dickinson was not enough for Minnesota to escape the basement, despite Washington’s loss to Seattle.