Mat Mlodzinski gives his Big Ten basketball power rankings heading into week 7 of the 2025 season.
Week 6 team of the week:Â Nebraska
Week 6 game of the week:Â #23 Nebraska – 83, #13 Illinois – 80
Week 6 player of the week:Â Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Week 7 matchup of the week:Â Ohio State at #12 North Carolina (Dec. 20 – 3 p.m.)
Week 7 under-the-radar matchup of the week:Â Arizona State at UCLA (Dec. 17 – 10:30 p.m.)
All games listed are EST
1) Michigan Wolverines
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 10-0
Last week: W vs. Villanova (89-61), W at Maryland (101-83)
Next week: vs. La Salle (Dec. 21 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Gonzaga (Neutral), Auburn (Neutral), San Diego State (Neutral), Villanova
Bad losses:
One word to describe Michigan: Dominant! The Wolverines have defeated every team in their path and most wins have been complete blowouts. A true Final Four contender in Ann Arbor.
2) Purdue Boilermakers
Last week’s ranking: 4 (+2)
Record: 10-1 (2-0)
Last week: W vs. Minnesota (85-57), W vs. Marquette (79-59)
Next week: vs. #21 Auburn (Dec. 20 – 6:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Alabama, Texas Tech
Bad losses:
One word to describe Purdue: Consistent. Take away one bad game against Iowa State and Purdue has had the same output in each game this season. Braden Smith is the maestro, Trey Kaufman-Renn is the beast, and everyone else falls into place.
3) Nebraska Cornhuskers
Last week’s ranking: 5 (+2)
Record: 11-0 (2-0)
Last week: W vs. Wisconsin (90-60), W at #13 Illinois (83-80)
Next week: vs. North Dakota (Dec. 21 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Creighton, New Mexico
Bad losses:
One word to describe Nebraska: Darlings. This is America’s team! Not only is it fun rooting for Nebrasketball, but they might be legitimate Final Four contenders. After some solid non-conference wins, we needed a little more convincing. What did the Cornhuskers do? Just beat Wisconsin by 30 and Illinois on the road. I’m all in!
4) Illinois Fighting Illini
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-2)
Record: 8-3 (1-1)
Last week: W at Ohio State (88-80), L vs. #23 Nebraska (83-80)
Next week:
Quality wins: Texas Tech, at Ohio State, Tennessee
Bad losses:
One word to describe Illinois: Promising. There’s a lot to like about the Fighting Illini. Keaton Wagler has been one of the top freshmen who came out of almost nowhere. Illinois is one of the top rebounding teams in the country. They may not be playing dominant basketball, but they are showing some promise to being in the top tier of Big Ten basketball when it’s all set and done.
5) Michigan State Spartans
Last week’s ranking: 3 (2)
Record: 9-1 (2-0)
Last week: W at Penn State (76-72)
Next week: vs. Toledo (Dec. 16 – 6:30 p.m.), vs. Oakland (Dec. 20 – Noon)
Quality wins: North Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Iowa
Bad losses:
One word to describe Michigan State: Susceptible. Michigan State has some great wins, and their only loss was to Duke by six. But last week, they looked beatable, almost getting upset at Penn State. They’ve had some other close calls before pulling away in the second half. Just something to keep an eye on, but still a great team.
6) USC Trojans
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+1)
Record: 10-1 (1-1)
Last week: W at San Diego (94-81), W vs. Washington State (68-61)
Next week: vs. UTSA (Dec. 17 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: Seton Hall (Neutral), Arizona State (Neutral), at Oregon
Bad losses:
One word to describe USC: Unsure. The Trojans might be 10-1, and they deserve a top-six ranking here in the Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings. There’s also no doubt they’re a tournament team. But they’ve also yet to play against a top 25 team. Against good competition, they squeaked by Seton Hall, took down Arizona State, and fell to Washington. We’ll learn more about USC once conference play gets going.
7) UCLA Bruins
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-1)
Record: 7-3 (2-0)
Last week: L vs. #8 Gonzaga (82-72)
Next week: vs. Arizona State (Dec. 17 – 10:30 p.m.), vs. Cal Poly (Dec. 19 – 10 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Washington
Bad losses:
One word to describe UCLA: Dangerous. They may not have a really great win yet, but UCLA only lost by four points to Arizona and 10 to Gonzaga out in Seattle. That’s the making of a team that could surprise us in March if they can put a full game together.
8) Ohio State Buckeyes
Last week’s ranking: 9 (+1)
Record: 8-2 (2-0)
Last week: L vs. #13 Illinois (88-80), W vs. West Virginia (89-88)
Next week: vs. #12 North Carolina (Dec. 20 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: West Virginia, Notre Dame
Bad losses:
One word to describe Ohio State: Boss. Bruce Springsteen may be known as “The Boss,” but Bruce Thornton may be challenging him for the rights to the nickname. The Buckeyes’ guard is on his way to being named a First Team All-American if he keeps this play up. He’s shooting over 60% from the field and has topped 30 points in a game twice this season.
9) Iowa Hawkeyes
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+1)
Record: 9-2 (1-1)
Last week: L at #4 Iowa State (64-60), W vs. Western Michigan (91-51)
Next week: vs. Bucknell (Dec. 20 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Xavier, Ole Miss
Bad losses:
One word to describe Iowa: One. And that’s because all it takes. Just one man to shut down Bennett Stirtz, or one cold night from the Hawkeyes’ best player. In both games Iowa has lost (also against the best teams they’ve played this year), Stirtz has been held in check. It’s not a good omen going forward.
10) Indiana Hoosiers
Last week’s ranking: 11 (+1)
Record: 8-3 (1-1)
Last week: W vs. Penn State (113-72), L at Kentucky (72-60)
Next week: vs. Chicago State (Dec. 20 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kansas State
Bad losses: at Minnesota
One word to describe Indiana: Lamar. 44 points and 10 threes from Wilkerson against Penn State may have been the top storyline in Big Ten basketball, if not college basketball, last week. He only had 15 in the loss to Kentucky, but IU fans won’t soon forget his historic night from the field against the Nittany Lions.
11) Washington Huskies
Last week’s ranking: 12 (+1)
Record: 7-3 (1-1)
Last week: W vs. Southern Utah (105-69)
Next week: at Seattle (Dec. 19 – 7:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at USC
Bad losses:
One word to describe Washington: Improving. After a bad start to a season where Washington figured to be better, they’ve now won two straight games – a win at USC to hand the Trojans their first loss, and a blowout over Southern Utah. It seems like things are coming together for the Huskies.
12) Wisconsin Badgers
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-4)
Record: 7-3 (1-1)
Last week: L at #23 Nebraska (90-60)
Next week: vs. Villanova (Dec. 19 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: Providence
Bad losses:
One word to describe Wisconsin: Overrated. I’m no longer going to act like the Badgers are a team to reckon with in the Big Ten. Their win at Marquette isn’t quality anymore, and the one over Providence barely is. Wisconsin’s also lost by 30 to Nebraska, 28 to BYU, and 11 to TCU. They haven’t shown they can even compete with the big dogs.
13) Northwestern Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 15 (+2)
Record: 6-4 (0-2)
Last week: W vs. Jackson State (93-53)
Next week: vs. Valpo (Dec. 16 – 8 p.m.), vs. Butler (Dec. 20 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: South Carolina
Bad losses:
One word to describe Northwestern: Close. The Wildcats are close to being out of the bottom of the Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings, and it’s because they play so many close games. All six of their games against Power Five teams have been decided by eight points or fewer. That means we could be talking about a 7-3 or even 8-2 Northwestern team if a few more bounces went their way.
14) Maryland Terrapins
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-2)
Record: 6-5 (0-2)
Last week: L vs. #2 Michigan (101-83)
Next week: at #23 Virginia (Dec. 20 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
One word to describe Maryland: Better? Did Maryland show something against Michigan? They lost by 18, but they were up five at the half, something that seems nearly impossible to accomplish against this Wolverines team. Taking notes!
15) Minnesota Golden Gophers
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-2)
Record: 6-5 (1-1)
Last week: L at #6 Purdue (85-57), W vs. Texas Southern (89-53)
Next week: vs. Campbell (Dec. 21 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Indiana
Bad losses: Stanford
One word to describe Minnesota: Mid. Niko Medved or Niko Mid-ved? Sorry by the way – I really think you were a home run hire if you’re reading this by chance. But this season, Minnesota has been very Mid-sota, no other way around it.
16) Penn State Nittany Lions
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-2)
Record: 8-3 (0-2)
Last week: L at Indiana (113-72), L vs. #9 Michigan State (76-72)
Next week: vs. Pitt (Dec. 21 – Noon)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
One word to describe Penn State: Meh. The Nittany Lions are the definition of meh. Penn State may not be as bad as Rutgers, and they showed the potential of getting a big win in their near-upset bid of Michigan State. But that’s far from being a team we should really care about.
17) Oregon Ducks
Last week’s ranking: 17 (-)
Record: 5-5 (0-2)
Last week: W vs. UC Davis (104-62)
Next week: vs. Portland (Dec. 17 – 11 p.m.), vs. #7 Gonzaga (Dec. 21 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
One word to describe Oregon: Lost. I’m not going to comment on a 42-point win over UC Davis because that doesn’t make up for this start to the season. Even at worst, you figured Oregon would be a bubble team this year, but right now, they’d have trouble even making the NIT. I’m scared about how many points the Zags may win this week’s matchup by.
18) Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Last week’s ranking: 18 (-)
Record: 5-6 (0-2)
Last week: L at Seton Hall (81-59)
Next week: vs. Penn (Dec. 20 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses: CCSU
One word to describe Rutgers: Awful. Yeah, there is a clear worst team in Big Ten basketball, and they reside in New Jersey. Rutgers has shown nothing this year to tell us they could even ruin a bubble team’s chances at making the NCAA Tournament.