The start of conference play shakes up the Big Ten Power Rankings

There are no easy games in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard and many, if not all, of his conference colleagues have preached that message for years. In today's portal era, the separation between the top half of the league and the bottom tends to shrink a little each year.

Wednesday was the prime example.

Minnesota has struggled mightily through the nonconference portion of the schedule, but the Gophers pummled undefeated No.25 Indiana in the second half that led to a court storm at The Barn. In the night cap, banged-up Washington nearly pulled the upset at home over preseason top-15 UCLA.

The league owns a 77-2 record in home games against nonconference teams. In two days of league action, home teams are 3-3. If this little conference appetizer is a precursor for what's to come, buckle up for plenty of unpredictability.

With the debut of the conference play and the debut of the NET rankings earlier this week, we continue with week five of the Big Ten power rankings.

Opened conference play with a W 🟢 ⚪ pic.twitter.com/hwgJGD0vp8
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) December 3, 2025

1, Michigan State Spartans (8-0, 1-0) Previous: 2

The Spartans' biggest weakness is their inconsistent perimeter shooting, which is tied for 195th nationally at 33.3 percent. It honestly doesn't matter on nights where the Spartans are locked in defensively and rebounding.

The Spartans are 43rd nationally in rebounding and 31st in offensive rebounding. Michigan State had a 37-18 edge in rebounds over Iowa and held the Hawkeyes to 38 percent and Bennett Stirtz, who entered averaging nearly 19 points per game, was held to four points in the first half in a 19-point win.

The Spartans are rolling and have another big test in front of them this weekend.

Up Next: Saturday vs No.4 Duke

2, Michigan Wolverines (7-0, 0-0) Previous: 3

The Wolverines are No.1 in the first NCAA NET rankings based off their three massive Quad-1 wins, two coming in the Player's Era Festival over Auburn and Gonzaga by a combined 70 points. Michigan is also No.1 in KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency (87.4), a full 9.4 points per 100 possessions ahead of Purdue, and No.11 in adjusted offensive efficiency.

If Michigan can cut down on the turnovers (tied for 268th nationally at 13.7 per game), the Wolverines would be real hard to stop.

Up Next: Saturday vs. Rutgers

3, Purdue Boilermakers (8-0, 1-0) Previous: 1

What is Purdue's biggest weakness? Good luck finding one. The Boilermakers have size inside with all-conference forward Trey Kaufmann-Renn and transfer center Oscar Cluff, one of the best shooters in Fletcher Loyer, and an All-American point guard in Braden Smith. The Boilers do rank 160th nationally in bench points, but that's largely because their starters are so good that they're playing a lot of minutes.

Up next: Saturday vs. No.10 Iowa State

4, Illinois Fighting Illini (6-2, 0-0) Previous: 4

Coach Brad Underwood has put together an aggressive nonconference schedule to challenge his team, which has exposed flaws against top-level competition. The Illini have struggled against predominate ball-screen offenses and have given up a lot of threes, ranking 179th nationally in defensive three-point attempt rate allowed. Illinois also hasn't made threes, ranking 207th nationally at 32.5 percent (which includes a 17-for-37 night against Jackson State).

Like the issue Gard has run into with some of his new pieces at Wisconsin, Underwood didn't think Illinois played tough enough in Saturday's loss to UConn in New York. It doesn't get easier this weekend.

Up Next: Saturday vs. No.13 Tennessee in Nashville

Can’t stop @ezraausar 💪

📺 FS1 pic.twitter.com/rAfHtbDd9V
— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) December 3, 2025

5, USC Trojans (8-0, 1-0) Previous: 8

The Trojans didn't knock off a ranked team in winning the Maui Invitational (USC beat teams ranked No.60, No.64, and No.82 in KenPom) but winning close games is certainly a confidence builder. Down 10 in the first half at Oregon, USC got the game tied at halftime and then pulled away in the second half by limiting threes (2-for-8) and outrebounding the Ducks, 23-12, doing it all without second-leading scorer Rodney Rice (20.3 ppg) in the lineup.

Chad Baker-Mazara had 25, his fourth 20-point game of the season, and contributed a season-high in steals with three, as USC is 4-0 in games decided by five point or less.

Up Next: Saturday vs. Washington

6, Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-0, 0-0) Previous: 5

Losing senior guard Connor Essegian for the season to an ankle injury is a significant blow to the Nebraska rotation and outside perimeter presence. Essegian led the Huskers with 78 three-pointers and averaged 10.7 points per game last season and had yet to really heat up (5.4 ppg, 25.8 percent 3FG), but his leadership can't be undervalued.

Nebraska's top three scorers are all forwards, likely not sustainable with the level of competition about to increase.

Up Next: Sunday vs. Creighton

7, Wisconsin Badgers (6-2, 1-0) Previous: 7

Wisconsin has looked great against mid-major competition and not-so-great against power-conference teams ... until Wednesday. Against a Northwestern team that not been blown out all season, UW led by as many as 27 points. John Blackwell and Nick Boyd combined for 46 points and the Badgers held Nick Martinelli relatively in check. We thought the Providence win helped this team turn the corner but got hoodwinked. Maybe this one is the moment.

Up Next: Saturday vs. Marquette

8, Indiana Hoosiers (7-1, 0-1) Previous 6

Indiana is built to shoot threes, so things don't look great when the shots don't go in. The Hoosiers have made at least nine three pointers in every game this season but two. Indiana struggled to get past Incarnate Word last month on a night in went 5-for-24 in a 69-61 win. The Hoosiers were 8-for-27 against the Gophers and lost by nine. Indiana starts only one player over 6-foot-7, so the Hoosiers are going to be at a disadvantage most nights rebounding. Indiana ranks 72nd nationally in rebounding margin (+7) and were outclassed by 15 on the boards to the Gophers, who rank 183rd in rebounds per game.

Up Next: Saturday vs No.6 Louisville in Indianapolis

9, Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1, 0-0), Previous: 9

The Buckeyes fattened up their record playing home games mostly against mid-majors and a Notre Dame team that's been an early disappointment. Ohio State was seconds away from staying unbeaten until Pittsburgh's Damarco Minor hit a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired. It shouldn't have come to that for the Buckeyes against an average Pitt team, which used offensive rebounds and free throws to score points on its final nine possessions.

Up Next: Saturday at Northwestern

10, Iowa Hawkeyes (7-1, 0-1) Previous: 10

Is Michigan State that good? Did Iowa just have an off night, or are the Hawkeyes starting to regress toward the mean? The Hawkeyes didn't look great in winning a 59-46 game over Grand Canyon and then fell victim to the Spartans' 35-16 run to close the first half. Iowa’s offense, rebounding and inability to handle low-post physicality all emerged as areas of concern for a roster mostly made up of transfers from mid-major conferences.

Up Next: Saturday vs. Maryland

11, UCLA Bruins (6-2, 1-0) Previous: 11

The Bruins are going to score because they have too many athletes on the floor who can shoot. However, the Bruins defense has struggled against power-conference competition against man defense. That was evident on Washington, which scored 48 points in the second half. One of the only reasons the Bruins pulled out a two-point win was the zone defense kept the Huskies out of the paint. Getting UCLA to play good individual defense is going to be a struggle all season.

Up Next: Saturday vs. Oregon

12, Northwestern Wildcats (5-3, 0-1) Previous: 12

Head coach Chris Collins lamented his team's lack of grit and toughness in the first half against Wisconsin, a half that the defensive-minded Wildcats didn't force a turnover. Chalk is up to the end of a long five-game road/neutral-site trip against power-conference opponents, but the Wildcats played much better in the second half to at least make the final result more acceptable.
Martinelli and Page consistently produce, but the Wildcats need another player to step up.

Up Next: Saturday vs. Ohio State

13, Oregon Ducks (4-4, 0-1) Previous: 13

Picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, the Ducks have been the league's biggest disappointment. Even worse, each game is a different problem on its current four-game losing streak: 18 turnovers against Auburn, allowing San Diego State to shoot 67.2 percent from the field and going 1 for 15 from three against Creighton, and not rebounding in the second half against USC. Not having its best player - forward Nate Bittle - the last two games hasn't helped matters either.

Up Next: Saturday at UCLA

Bringing the Payne 😤 pic.twitter.com/PXgplHQ7py
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) December 3, 2025

14, Maryland Terrapins (6-3, 0-0) Previous: 14

After losing to No.12 Gonzaga by 39 and No.8 Alabama by 33, the Terps had a 89-63 get-well game against Wagner. The Terps are 127th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, second-to-last in the Big Ten.

Up Next: Saturday at Iowa

15, Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1, 0-0) Previous: 15

The Nittany Lions are winning but they haven't beaten anybody. All of their wins have come in Quad-4 and only one (Navy) against the KenPom top 200. They won't be able to hide for too much longer with the Hoosiers and Spartans coming up next week.

Up Next: Tuesday at No.22 Indiana

The Nittany Lions improve to 8-1 for the second straight year with the 87-76 win over Campbell 🦁

It’s @PennStateMBB's first back-to-back 8-1 (or better) starts since 1994-95 and 1995-96. pic.twitter.com/KPhG4zSFTB
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) December 3, 2025

16, Washington Huskies (5-3, 0-1) Previous: 16

Hannes Steinbach lit up UCLA's defense with 29 points on an efficient 11-for-12 shooting, doing it without the benefit of a three-pointer. Wesley Yates wasn't as fortunate, going 4-for-10 from three and 4-for-13 overall on a night where the Bruins were beatable. These are the games Washington has to win, and the Huskies don't have a consistent enough offense yet to do it, especially when it commits 15 turnovers in a two-point loss.

Up Next: Saturday at No.24 USC

17, Minnesota Gophers (5-4, 1-0): Previous: 17

Minnesota lost three consecutive games to San Francisco, Stanford, and Santa Clara, announced starting point guard Chansey Willis Jr. is out for the season following foot surgery, and were down two other starters. So, naturally, the Gophers started Big Ten play outscoring No.22 Indiana by nine in the second half, which was the margin of victory. Undermanned, four Minnesota starters logged at least 36 minutes, led by Cade Tyson’s 40. All five starters scored in double figures, led by Tyson's 17 points and eight rebounds. Welcome to the Big Ten,

Up Next: Wednesday at No.1 Purdue

18, Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-4, 0-1): Previous: 18

After a 4-0 start, the Scarlet Knights have lost four of five and have yet to beat a power-conference opponent. With an offense ranked 156th in efficiency and a defense ranked 102nd, Rutgers' sits 127th nationally in KenPom and 189th in the NET. Dylan Grant has been the bright spot, averaging 13.8 points over the last four games.

Up Next: Saturday at No.3 Michigan