Mat Mlodzinski gives his Big Ten basketball power rankings heading into week 5 of the 2025 season.
Week 4 team of the week: Michigan Wolverines
Week 4 game of the week: USC – 83, Seton Hall – 81
Week 4 player of the week: Nick Boyd, Wisconsin
Week 5 matchup of the week: #10 Iowa State (7-0) at #1 Purdue (7-0) – Dec. 6 at Noon
Week 5 under-the-radar matchup of the week: Oregon (4-3) at UCLA (5-2) – Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.
All games listed are EST
1) Michigan Wolverines
Last week’s ranking: 2 (+1)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. San Diego State (94-54), W vs. #21 Auburn (102-72), W vs. #12 Gonzaga (101-61)
Next week: vs. Rutgers (Dec. 6 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Gonzaga (Neutral), Auburn (Neutral), San Diego State (Neutral), Wake Forest, at TCU
Bad losses:
Michigan absolutely obliterated everyone in their way in Las Vegas, winning the second annual Players Era Festival. Their margin of victory ended up being 110 points, which was highlighted by a 40-point blowout win over #12 Gonzaga in the championship game.
Yaxel Lendeborg is playing at an All-American level and is one of SEVEN players averaging at least 8.0 points per game. And that doesn’t even include LJ Cason or Will Tschetter, who are both key rotation players as well.
Dusty May has a legitimate championship contender in Ann Arbor.
2) Purdue Boilermakers
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-1)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. Eastern Illinois (109-62)
Next week: at Rugers (Dec. 2 – 8 p.m.), vs. #10 Iowa State (Dec. 6 – Noon)
Quality wins: at Alabama, Texas Tech
Bad losses:
While most teams participated in Feast Week, Purdue was busy beating the brakes off Eastern Illinois by 47 points. Take that, Michigan!
Braden Smith had 10 assists (what’s new?), but Daniel Jacobsen had 24 points off the bench, which was a great sign of what could come with him and Cluff inside.
This week, Purdue visits Rutgers to start Big Ten basketball play before hosting #10 Iowa State. A tough path to get to 9-0!
3) Michigan State Spartans
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. East Carolina (89-56), W vs. #16 North Carolina (74-58)
Next week: vs. Iowa (Dec. 2 – 7 p.m.), vs. #4 Duke (Dec. 6 – Noon)
Quality wins: Kentucky, North Carolina, Arkansas
Bad losses:
Does it feel like the Spartans are still flying under the radar? They took down East Carolina with no trouble and won by 16 over UNC. Jeremy Fears Jr. was outstanding against the Tar Heels, going 8-for-10 from the field and dishing out 7 dimes. 11 points off the bench from Cam Ward was another positive sign as the Spartans prepare for a huge week with undefeated Iowa and #4 Duke.
4) Indiana Hoosiers
Last week’s ranking: 5 (+1)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. Kansas State (86-69), W vs. Bethune-Cookman (100-56)
Next week: at Minnesota (Dec. 3 – 7 p.m.), vs. #6 Louisville (Dec. 6 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kansas State, Marquette
Bad losses:
The Hoosiers may not have played in a Feast Week MTE, but they did host Kansas State and win by 17, arguably their best overall win of the season.
It was also a week to remember for Tayton Conerway, who had 19 points and 3 steals against the Wildcats, followed by 9 points, 5 assists, and 3 more steals against Bethune, with 0 turnovers after a 7-turnover game against K-State. Any production IU can get outside of Tucker DeVries and Lamar Wilkerson will be huge this season.
5) Iowa Hawkeyes
Last week’s ranking: 8 (+3)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. Ole Miss (74-69), W vs. Grand Canyon (59-46)
Next week: at #7 Michigan State (Dec. 2 – 7 p.m.), vs. Maryland (Dec. 6 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Ole Miss, Xavier
Bad losses:
Iowa showed a lot during Feast Week, and there’s a reason Michigan State can be viewed as on upset alert on Tuesday.
Against Ole Miss, it was the Bennett Stirtz show. The Hawkeyes’ star guard poured in 29 points on 6-of-8 shooting from distance. But against GCU, it was a low-scoring affair. Stirtz struggled, going 5-of-15, but GCU struggled more, hitting just 17 shots all game long. Nana Owusu-Anane, who averages a double-double, was held to ZERO points and 6 six rebounds.
Iowa showed they can win in multiple ways, which is a scary thing for the rest of Big Ten basketball.
6) Illinois Fighting Illini
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-2)
Record: 6-2
Last week: W vs. UTRGV (87-73), L vs. #5 UConn (74-61)
Next week: vs. #13 Tennessee (Dec. 6 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: Texas Tech
Bad losses:
Illinois had the unfortunate luck of playing UConn at Madison Square Garden, which is essentially a home game for the Huskies. Kylan Boswell went off for 25 points, but the rest of the Fighting Illini shot 11-for-44 from the floor, a rough showing at the World’s Most Famous Arena.
This week, they only have one game, but it’s another test against #13 Tennessee.
7) Nebraska Cornhuskers
Last week’s ranking: 6 (1)
Record: 8-0
Last week: W vs. Winthrop (80-73), W vs. SC Upstate (72-63)
Next week: vs. Creighton (Dec. 7 – 5 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kansas State, Oklahoma, New Mexico
Bad losses:
Am I concerned about an 8-0 Nebraska? A little bit. Their three ‘quality’ wins are looking worse as the non-conference goes on, and only winning by seven against Winthrop and nine against SC Upstate makes you think.
Still, the Cornhuskers are undefeated and are playing some halfway decent defense to pair with their offensive talent.
Their Sunday evening clash with rival Creighton should be another good litmus test.
8) USC Trojans
Last week’s ranking: 13 (+5)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. Boise State (70-67), W vs. Seton Hall (83-81), W vs. Arizona State (88-75)
Next week: at Oregon (Dec. 2 – 10 p.m.), vs. Washington (Dec. 6 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Seton Hall, Arizona State
Bad losses:
While a lot of the middle of Big Ten basketball crumbled last week, USC rose to the occasion, winning the Maui Invitational.
Now, I’ll be the first to say – Seton Hall outplayed the Trojans, and the refs heavily influenced the game. But it doesn’t take away from how much attention Ezra Ausar commanded down low. Chad Baker-Mazara is also thriving as a leader of this team, and when it comes down to it, 7-0 is 7-0.
The Trojans begin Big Ten basketball play at Oregon and against Washington – two chances at some more solid wins to prove themselves some more.
9) Ohio State Buckeyes
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-2)
Record: 6-1
Last week: W vs. Mount St. Mary’s (113-60), L at Pitt (67-66)
Next week: at Northwestern (Dec. 6 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Notre Dame
Bad losses:
Is Pitt a good basketball team? I wouldn’t say they’re a tournament team, but they’ve got pride and were at home, so you can’t totally fault Ohio State for a one-point loss there.
But they do need a bounce-back win against Northwestern, because at 6-1, their best win is against Notre Dame, and that may not be a quality win for much longer.
10) Wisconsin Badgers
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-)
Record: 5-2
Last week: W vs. Providence (104-83), L vs. TCU (74-63)
Next week: vs. Northwestern (Dec. 3 – 9 p.m.), at Marquette (Dec. 6 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Providence
Bad losses:
It seems wrong not to move Wisconsin down after losing by 13 to a not-so-great TCU team, but the 21-point win over Providence was a good win – and most of the middle of Big Ten basketball didn’t do so hot at all. So it’s props to the Badgers – who were led by a career-high 36 points from Nick Boyd – to get one win in Feast Week. But more questions after the loss to the Horned Frogs.
11) UCLA Bruins
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-2)
Record: 5-2
Last week: L vs. Cal (80-72)
Next week: at Washington (Dec. 3 – 11 p.m.), vs. Oregon (Dec. 6 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Through seven games, UCLA still hasn’t picked up a quality win, and while it’s not a bad loss at the moment, losing to former Pac-12 rival Cal could turn into that. The Bruins outrebounded the Golden Bears by six, had two more assists, but still lost by eight, because of a few more turnovers and worse shooting all around. It seems like preseason expectations on the Bruins may have been wrong.
12) Northwestern Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-1)
Record: 5-2
Last week: L vs. Oklahoma State (86-81)
Next week: at Wisconsin (Dec. 3 – 9 p.m.), vs. Ohio State (Dec. 6 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: South Carolina
Bad losses:
I’m not ready to say Northwestern should move up in the Big Ten basketball power rankings, but they did only lose by five to Oklahoma State, and seem to be competitive early on this season.
However, Nick Martinelli needs to score at least 20 points or more for the Wildcats to have a chance in virtually any game they play in. While he’s more than capable, they’re just not getting enough out of role players who had a chance to raise their games this season.
13) Penn State Nittany Lions
Last week’s ranking: 16 (+3)
Record: 7-1
Last week: W vs. Boston U (96-87), W vs. Sacred Heart (90-59)
Next week: vs. Campbell (Dec. 2 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
At this point, I’m moving Penn State up in the Big Ten basketball power rankings solely due to the fact that the rest of the teams below them had horrendous Feast Week performances. Are wins over Boston U and Sacred Heart anything to write home about? No, and in no way. But it’s better than missing out on chances at quality wins. So congrats Penn State, I guess?
14) Washington Huskies
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-)
Record: 5-2
Last week: W vs. Nevada (83-66), L vs. Colorado (81-68)
Next week: vs. UCLA (Dec. 3 – 11 p.m.), at #24 USC (Dec. 6 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
It was a pretty ‘meh’ week for the Huskies, winning by 17 over Nevada before falling by 13 to Colorado. Not much to be positive or negative about, so there’s a reason they stay at 14th in the Big Ten basketball power rankings.
There is a big sigh of relief going forward, though, as Hannes Steinbach reportedly returned to practice. It could be a big week in store if he plays against UCLA and USC.
15) Oregon Ducks
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-3)
Record: 4-3
Last week: L vs. #21 Auburn (84-73), L vs. San Diego State (97-80), L vs. Creighton (76-66)
Next week: vs. #24 USC (Dec. 2 – 10 p.m.), at UCLA (Dec. 6 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
The Ducks are sitting at 4-3 after losing all three Players Era Festival games. They gave up 84 to Auburn and 97 to San Diego State, which is just not good at all. Defensive efforts sort of improved against Creighton, but Oregon could only muster up 66 in the loss.
Right now, things are not going well, but they practically need to defeat USC and/or UCLA to create some momentum this week.
16) Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Last week’s ranking: 18 (+2)
Record: 5-3
Last week: L vs. #17 Tennessee (85-60), L vs. Notre Dame (68-63), W vs. UNLV (80-65)
Next week: vs. #1 Purdue (Dec. 2 – 8 p.m.), at #3 Michigan (Dec. 6 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses: CCSU
What did Rutgers do to deserve Purdue and Michigan to start Big Ten basketball play in one week? I’m not sure, but I am sure that they beat UNLV by 15, and kept it close with Notre Dame, which deserves a small bump in these power rankings.
17) Maryland Terrapins
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-2)
Record: 5-3
Last week: W vs. UNLV (74-67), L vs. #12 Gonzaga (100-61), L vs. #8 Alabama (105-72)
Next week: vs. Wagner (Dec. 2 – 8 p.m.), at Iowa (Dec. 6 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Marquette
Bad losses:
I’m not sure how Maryland won at Marquette, because they’ve just looked uncompetitive in almost every other game against a decent team. Clearly, Buzz Williams has some things to figure out with a trip to Iowa City on Saturday.
18) Minnesota Golden Gophers
Last week’s ranking: 17 (-1)
Record: 4-4
Last week: L vs. Stanford (72-68), L vs. Santa Clara (86-75)
Next week: vs. #22 Indiana (Dec. 3 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses: Stanford
Minnesota is at the bottom of the Big Ten basketball power rankings in week 5, thanks to losses to Stanford and Santa Clara. They are now 4-4 with their four wins over teams with a combined… wait for it… Six wins. Just brutal.