Big Ten Basketball Standings (Feb. 17): Michigan Takes Control of 1st Place
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Just one year ago, Michigan finished the Big Ten season with only three wins in conference play. Fast forward to the 2024-25 season and the Wolverines have ownership of the top spot in the conference standings in the middle of February.
With wins over Purdue and Ohio State last week, Michigan now sits alone atop the Big Ten standings. The Wolverines have literally gone from worst to first in one season under Dusty May. But it's hardly a runaway.
Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin are all within two games of Michigan. Maryland and UCLA are 2.5 games back in the standings. It's created a really interesting race, as teams battle for a conference championship, as well as that all-important double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
Here's a look at the current Big Ten standings.
Big Ten men's basketball standings (Feb. 17)
1. Michigan Wolverines (12-2)
2. Michigan State Spartans (11-3)
3. Purdue Boilermakers (11-4)
4. Wisconsin Badgers (10-4)
T-5. Maryland Terrapins (10-5)
T-5. UCLA Bruins (10-5)
7. Illinois Fighting Illini (9-7)
T-8. Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-8)
T-8. Oregon Ducks (7-8)
T-8. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-8)
11. USC Trojans (6-8)
12. Indiana Hoosiers (6-9)
T-13. Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-9)
T-13. Iowa Hawkeyes (5-9)
15. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-10)
16. Washington Huskies (4-10)
17. Northwestern Wildcats (4-11)
18. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-12)
*Only top 15 teams make Big Ten Tournament.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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