Mat Mlodzinski gives his Big Ten basketball power rankings heading into week 17 of the season.
*There were no Big Ten basketball power rankings for week 16, so week 15 and 16 games are included in this edition*
Week 15/16 team of the week: Michigan Wolverines
Week 15/16 game of the week: UCLA over #10 Illinois, 95-94 (OT)
Week 15/16 player of the week: Donovan Dent, UCLA
Week 17 matchup of the week: #13 Michigan State at #8 Purdue (Feb. 26 – 8 p.m.)
Week 17 under-the-radar matchup of the week: USC at UCLA (Feb. 24 – 11 p.m.)
All games listed are EST
1) Michigan Wolverines
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 26-2 (16-1)
Week 15/16: W at Northwestern (87-75), W vs. UCLA (86-65), W at #7 Purdue (91-80), L vs. #3 Duke (68-63), W vs. Minnesota (77-67)
Next week: at #10 Illinois (Feb. 27 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Michigan State, at Purdue, Gonzaga (Neutral), Nebraska, Villanova, UCLA, San Diego State (Neutral), Ohio State (2x), Indiana, USC, Auburn (Neutral)
Bad losses:
If you think Michigan shouldn’t be atop the Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings after a five-point loss at a neutral site to Duke, I don’t know what to tell you. Since the last edition, they picked up a 21-point win over UCLA and knocked off Purdue on the road. The Wolverines are still clear national title contenders.
2) Purdue Boilermakers
Last week’s ranking: 5 (+3)
Record: 22-5 (12-4)
Last week: W at #7 Nebraska (80-77), W at Iowa (78-57), L vs. #1 Michigan (91-80), W vs. Indiana (93-64)
Next week: vs. #13 Michigan State (Feb. 26 – 8 p.m.), at Ohio State (Mar. 1 – 1:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Alabama, at Nebraska, Texas Tech, at Wisconsin, Iowa (2x), at USC, Indiana, Auburn
Bad losses:
The Boilermakers may have fallen at home to Michigan, but they won a crazy game at Nebraska, blew out Iowa on the road, and smoked Indiana at home. For a team that has been inconsistent for a lot of the year, Purdue is starting to look like Final Four good.
3) Illinois Fighting Illini
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)
Record: 22-6 (13-4)
Last week: L vs. Wisconsin (92-90), W vs. Indiana (71-51), W at USC (101-65), L at UCLA (95-94)
Next week: vs. #3 Michigan (Feb. 27 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Purdue, at Nebraska, Texas Tech, Tennessee, at Iowa, at USC, at Ohio State, Indiana, Missouri
Bad losses:
Illinois only went 2-2 over the last two weeks, but the losses were to a pair of tournament teams by a combined 3 points. The wins? By a combined 56 points over a pair of likely tournament teams. Sure, it may seem up and down, but it shows their ceiling and how even when their defense is picked apart, they’ll still have a chance to win it at the end.
4) Michigan State Spartans
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-1)
Record: 22-5 (12-4)
Last week: L at Wisconsin (92-71), W vs. UCLA (82-59), W vs. Ohio State (66-60)
Next week: at #8 Purdue (Feb. 26 – 8 p.m.), at Indiana (Mar. 1 – 3:45 p.m.)
Quality wins: Illinois, North Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Iowa, Ohio State, USC, Indiana
Bad losses: at Minnesota
After getting blown out of the gym at Wisconsin, Michigan State has rebounded with two quality wins against UCLA and Ohio State. And since that Badgers game, Tom Izzo’s defensive preaching has been paying off. We’ll see if it lasts.
5) Wisconsin Badgers
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+5)
Record: 19-8 (11-5)
Last week: W at #8 Illinois (92-90), W vs. #10 Michigan State (92-71), L at Ohio State (86-69), W vs. Iowa (84-71)
Next week: at Oregon (Feb. 25 – 11 p.m.), at Washington (Feb. 28 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Michigan, at Illinois, Michigan State, UCLA, Iowa, Ohio State
Bad losses:
Talk about removing yourself from the bubble! In the span of a couple of weeks, the Badgers went from barely in the field to competing with the giants of Big Ten basketball. The next three games for Wisconsin are Oregon, Washington, and Maryland, so there’s a great chance they earn a double-bye in the conference tourney.
6) UCLA Bruins
Last week’s ranking: 8 (+2)
Record: 19-9 (11-6)
Last week: L at #2 Michigan (86-56), L at #15 Michigan State (82-59), W vs. #10 Illinois (95-94), W vs. USC (81-62)
Next week: at Minnesota (Feb. 28 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Purdue, Illinois, USC
Bad losses:
After getting exposed by Michigan and Michigan State, the trip back home has been very nice for the Bruins. They found a way to take down Illinois in overtime, with Donovan Dent scoring in the final seconds. Then on Tuesday, they beat USC by 19 in a rematch of Pac-12 rivals. I’m not saying they’re a force to be reckoned with, but maybe Mick Cronin is finally coming through to his squad.
7) Nebraska Cornhuskers
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-3)
Record: 23-4 (12-4)
Last week: L vs. #13 Purdue (80-77), W vs. Northwestern (68-49), L at Iowa (57-52), W vs. Penn State (87-64)
Next week: vs. Maryland (Feb. 25 – 7 p.m.), at USC (Feb. 28 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Illinois, Michigan State, at Ohio State, at Indiana, Wisconsin, Creighton, New Mexico
Bad losses:
The Cornhuskers haven’t had a quality win since mid-January, if you count Indiana or Ohio State. If you don’t count that, it was Michigan State on Jan. 2. To be fair, they’ve faced a lot of adversity, and they’ve still won games against those in front of them, but this final stretch in Big Ten basketball play will be critical to re-prove themselves.
8) Ohio State Buckeyes
Last week’s ranking: 11 (+3)
Record: 17-10 (9-7)
Last week: W vs. USC (89-82), L vs. #15 Virginia (70-66), W vs. #24 Wisconsin (86-69), L at #15 Michigan State (66-60)
Next week: at Iowa (Feb. 25 – 9 p.m.), vs. #8 Purdue (Mar. 1 – 1:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Wisconsin, UCLA, USC, West Virginia
Bad losses:
Ohio State remains firmly on the bubble, but the recent win over Wisconsin did a lot to help its case. And honestly, as college basketball fans, we should want to see the Buckeyes get in, because Bruce Thornton deserves the chance to play in March Madness as much as anyone. They’ve got to take one against Iowa or Purdue this week.
9) Iowa Hawkeyes
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-2)
Record: 19-8 (9-7)
Last week: L at Maryland (77-70), L vs. #13 Purdue (78-57), W vs. #9 Nebraska (57-52), L at #24 Wisconsin (84-71)
Next week: vs. Ohio State (Feb. 25 – 9 p.m.), at Penn State (Feb. 28 – Noon)
Quality wins: Nebraska, UCLA, at Indiana, USC
Bad losses: at Maryland
Iowa’s been on the struggle bus lately, losing to Maryland on the road and falling by double digits to Purdue and Wisconsin. But the win over Nebraska still solidified their place in the NCAA Tournament. They’ll need a strong finish with a big game against Ohio State on Wednesday.
10) Indiana Hoosiers
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-4)
Record: 17-11 (8-9)
Last week: L at #8 Illinois (71-51), L at #7 Purdue (93-64), L vs. Northwestern (72-68)
Next week: vs. #13 Michigan State (Mar. 1 – 3:45 p.m.)
Quality wins: Purdue, at UCLA, Wisconsin
Bad losses: at Minnesota, Northwestern
The Hoosiers are finding themselves in a tough spot, 2-10 in Quad 1 games and a terrible home loss to Northwestern. If they want to make it to the big dance, they may have to get an upset win over Michigan State.
11) USC Trojans
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-2)
Record: 18-10 (7-10)
Last week: L at Ohio State (89-82), L vs. #10 Illinois (101-65), L vs. Oregon (71-70), L at UCLA (81-62)
Next week: vs. #12 Nebraska (Feb. 28 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Wisconsin, Seton Hall (Neutral), Indiana
Bad losses: Oregon
USC has now lost four straight games, practically playing itself out of March Madness consideration. With a home game against Nebraska up next on Saturday, the Trojans may be in a win that game or else situation.
12) Northwestern Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 14 (+2)
Record: 12-16 (4-13)
Last week: L vs. #2 Michigan (87-75), L at #7 Nebraska (68-49), W vs. Maryland (78-74), W at Indiana 972-68)
Next week: vs. Oregon (Feb. 28 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at USC, at Indiana
Bad losses: at Rutgers
Look at Northwestern, with a two-game winning streak going on! With Oregon and Minnesota left on the schedule, there’s a good chance they can improve their seeding in the conference tournament over these next three games, which is all they can play for at this point.
13) Washington Huskies
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)
Record: 14-14 (6-9)
Last week: L vs. Penn State (63-60), W vs. Minnesota (69-57), L at Maryland (64-60), W at Rutgers (79-72)
Next week: vs. Wisconsin (Feb. 28 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at USC, Ohio State
Bad losses: at Seattle, Penn State, at Maryland
Washington lost a couple of bad games last week, falling to Penn State and then at Maryland. But they also took down Minnesota and Rutgers, staying at .500 for the year. It hasn’t been their year, but with Hannes Steinbach, they seem like a team to watch in the Big Ten Tournament.
14) Minnesota Golden Gophers
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-2)
Record: 13-15 (6-11)
Last week: L at Washington (69-57), W at Oregon (61-44), W vs. Rutgers (80-61), L at #3 Michigan (77-67)
Next week: vs. UCLA (Feb. 28 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Michigan State, Iowa, Indiana
Bad losses: San Francisco, at Penn State, Maryland, at Washington
Props given to Minnesota, who continues to grind, shutting down Oregon and Rutgers and keeping pace with Michigan for most of the game on Tuesday. The Golden Gophers would need to win the Big Ten tourney to make it to March Madness, but Niko Medved hasn’t lost his group despite a 13-15 record.
15) Maryland Terrapins
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-)
Record: 11-16 (4-12)
Last week: W vs. Iowa (77-70), L at Rutgers (68-57), L at Northwestern (78-74), W vs. Washington (64-60)
Next week: at #12 Nebraska (Feb. 25 – 7 p.m.), vs. Rutgers (Mar. 1 – Noon)
Quality wins: Iowa
Bad losses: Georgetown, Oregon, at Rutgers, at Northwestern
The Terps picked up a quality win, knocking off Iowa, but then proceeded to lose at Rutgers and Northwestern, before edging out a win over Washington. Buzz Williams hasn’t had a great first year, but let’s see if he can help Maryland finish strong.
16) Oregon Ducks
Last week’s ranking: 18 (+2)
Record: 10-17 (3-13)
Last week: W vs. Penn State (83-72), L vs. Minnesota (61-44), W at USC (71-70)
Next week: vs. Wisconsin (Feb. 25 – 11 p.m.), at Northwestern (Feb. 28 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at USC
Bad losses:
Dana Altman’s had a very rough season, but Oregon has found a way to win two of its last three games, taking down USC on the road in the process. At this point, the best the Ducks can do is play spoiler to the rest of the teams in their way.
17) Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Last week’s ranking: 17 (-)
Record: 11-17 (4-13)
Last week: W vs. Maryland (68-57), W at Penn State (85-72), L at Minnesota (80-61), L vs. Washington (79-72)
Next week: at Maryland (Mar. 1 – Noon)
Quality wins:
Bad losses: CCSU, Notre Dame
At this point, not much else to say on Rutgers, other than it seems like it’s time to move on from Steve Pikiell.
18) Penn State Nittany Lions
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-2)
Record: 11-17 (2-15)
Last week: W at Washington (63-60), L at Oregon (83-72), L vs. Rutgers (85-72), L at #9 Nebraska (87-64)
Next week: vs. Iowa (Feb. 28 – Noon)
Quality wins:
Bad losses: Providence, Pitt, at Maryland, at Northwestern, at Oregon, Rutgers
Penn State can’t even beat the bottom-tier teams in Big Ten basketball, so they fall to last place in the week 17 power rankings.