Big Ten Power Rankings: Illinois Makes Its Move on Michigan for No. 1

Has it only been a week?

When last we met in this space, Nebraska was still undefeated, Michigan and Michigan State were a couple of Lower Peninsula rivals with identical Big Ten records and Illinois was still basking in the glory of a hard-to-fathom win over then-No. 4 Purdue in West Lafayette. Time flies when you're trading haymakers in college basketball's most ruthlessly unforgiving conference.

But the beat(down) goes on in the Big Ten as the survivors begin to separate themselves from the semi-conquered. (There still is some basketball left to be played.) What we're starting to see is the formulation of a tidier world order, with most of the contenders having played one another – and, in some cases, twice – or bringing into greater focus those remaining best-versus-best matchups. It's gonna be a wild ride the finish line.

For the time being, however, here's how we see the top of the Big Ten shaking out as of early February:

Big Ten basketball power rankings: Top five

No. 5: Purdue (8-3 Big Ten)

Purdue coach Matt Painter — Jan 24, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter yells during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Purdue recently played three consecutive seasons of basketball without losing three games in a row, but you may recall that it was only last season that the Boilermakers endured a late-season stretch of four consecutive losses. But here's the kicker: They still made last year's Sweet 16, losing by just two to eventual national-title runners-up Houston. The lesson: Only a fool counts out the Boilers.

Matt Painter and his crew saw their short regional nightmare – that defeat at Indiana must have stung like the dickens – end Sunday with a 30-point smashing of Maryland. But the schedule doesn't exactly open up from there. After Oregon on Saturday, Purdue has Nebraska in Lincoln, Iowa in Iowa City, then Michigan, Indiana and Michigan State at home. UCLA and Wisconsin are nipping at the Boilers heels on this list, so it's time for them to get busy living or get busy dying.

Effort like that. Every game.

🎬: Maryland Quick Cut pic.twitter.com/CO1jQbzYrX
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) February 2, 2026

No. 4: Nebraska (9-2 Big Ten)

It's too early to write Nebraska's epitaph, but the Cornhuskers were already flying a little too high over the Great Plains before coming down in losses to Michigan and Illinois. They hung tough without two of their key contributors against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, but the defeat at home – particularly after the Huskers controlled things at halftime – was deflating.

Another 3️⃣ from Braden Frager 🤩 @HuskerMBB

📺: FS1 pic.twitter.com/iIBe5k0r4A
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 1, 2026

Even so, Nebraska has a luxurious schedule ahead (by Big Ten standards), and it still controls much of its own destiny: One-loss conference leaders Illinois and Michigan have yet to play, so the Huskers would just need another random misstep by the winner of that game to own a piece of the Big Ten regular-season title if they were able to win out. A long shot? Yes. But given that NU hasn't won one since they arrived in the league in 2011 – or any men's basketball regular-season conference title since 1950 – the Huskers should dare to dream.

No. 3: Michigan State (9-2 Big Ten)

We know Jeremy Fears Jr. is a baller. We know the Spartans (as always) can scrap. But can they shoot? They' have been no better than middling among Big Ten teams from three-point range, and lately marksmanship – or lack thereof – has become a full-blown Achilles' heel. Michigan State is shooting just 32 percent from beyond the arc over its past eight games, including a 4-for-23 mark in its home loss to Michigan last Friday.

Jaxon Kohler ties this game up 👀 @MSU_Basketball

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/e8peV0anuC
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 31, 2026

Few teams are better at running opposing shooters off the line than Illinois, which makes Saturday's clash with the Illini in Champaign a critical one if Sparty is going to continue to hold out hopes of a Big Ten championship (they play Michigan against in Ann Arbor in the season finale) and push for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

No. 2: Illinois (10-1 Big Ten)

For an encore to their signature win at Purdue just over a week ago, the Illini smothered Nebraska in Lincoln to stake a claim in the AP poll's top five and assert itself as Michigan's most gnarly threat at the in the conference. That's 11 straight wins and counting. Can the Illini keep it moving against Northwestern on Wednesday and, more relevantly, Michigan State this weekend?

Highlights of our 78-69 Big Ten road win at No. 5 Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb. We notch back-to-back road game victories over top-5 opponents for the first time in program history. pic.twitter.com/7HQhaN4rpq
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) February 2, 2026

They have offered no indication that they can't. Illinois seems to experience more stretches of mediocrity than a true contender, but the rebounding, three-point-shooting potency and Keaton Wagler are the Illini's great equalizers. They have found the fomula that works for them, evolving into a club that, over the course of 40 minutes, is something close to unbeatable.

No. 1: Michigan (10-1 Big Ten)

Now, the Wolverines might have something to say about that last statement. A lot can happen between now and Feb. 27, but for now, a face-off with the Illini in Champaign on that date appears definitive. Last week Michigan nipped Nebraska and mowed down MSU – Yaxel Lendeborg has never looked better – to leave only Illinois to share a piece of the Big Ten lead.

Took care of business on the road 💼 pic.twitter.com/RJTginuNXS
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) February 4, 2026

What's more, the initial road ahead is a wide open one. But then comes a punishing stretch: UCLA, at Purdue, Duke on a neutral site, at Illinois, at Iowa and MSU at home over a final seven-game stretch to close out the regular season. That gauntlet will either break the Wolverines or make them the most dangerous animal in the game come the NCAA Tournament