Nonconference play represents an early chance for teams to spread their wings and understand their rotations, though we’re also learning quite a bit about some power conference programs. Regardless, the season is still less than three weeks old and we don’t really know that much about the Big Ten to this point. Still, the 18 teams in this league have had their fair share of excitement, both among the great ranked teams and the ones struggling near the bottom of the bunch. On the brim of even more holiday tournament action, let’s do our best to rank the Big Ten teams and how they currently match up against each other.
18. Rutgers (4-0)
Coming off a troubling season last year, Rutgers has plenty of new faces and have quietly taken care of their business with a perfect start to this campaign. However, the strength of schedule is abhorrent to this point, with either Lehigh or American as the best opponent and neither was exactly a blowout win. The Scarlet Knights’ schedule really takes off next week and we’ll see what this team is truly made of but it’s hard to see a conference contender right now.
17. Minnesota (4-1)
This Minnesota squad is another Big Ten team that has looked fine, but Niko Medved’s first year running the show was never going to be a championship-level team. They lost by more than 20 in their first real challenge of the season at Missouri last week before needing overtime against a weak Green Bay squad at home. After two brilliant showings in the season’s opening week, the Golden Gophers have put up some troubling results and have some monster matchups ahead.
16. Penn State (5-0)
They certainly weren’t all pretty but Penn State has five wins and a perfect start to the season. Outside of a blowout win at New Haven, the Nittany Lions didn’t put away any of their other opponents, and went down to the wire against Harvard earlier this week. Question marks remain about the Nittany Lions defense and it’s hard imagining this team competing for an NCAA Tournament bid. They have a great shot to prove themselves soon against Providence, though this nonconference schedule isn’t exactly a murderer’s row.
15. Maryland (4-1)
The new era under Buzz Williams got off to a bit of a rocky start as the Terrapins lost by 10 at home to rival Georgetown in just Williams’ second game at the helm. Things turned around last weekend with a great performance in a win at Marquette, but it’s really going to be a roller coaster season in College Park. The Terrapins needed overtime to dispatch of Mount St. Mary’s earlier this week and have a significant tougher schedule ahead in the next few weeks
14. Washington (4-1)
Year one under Danny Sprinkle wasn’t amazing but there was certainly more potential this year for the coach to turn things around in Seattle. The performances have been uneven to say the least, including in the Huskies’ tough road loss at Baylor. Just a few nights ago, Washington needed double overtime to win at home over Southern, and while the Jaguars are no pushover that’s a really hard pill to swallow. At the very least, they’ve avoided the early pitfall and do have a road win at rival Washington State on the resume.
13. Oregon (4-0)
The record is perfect and the Ducks are starting to shoot the ball better but the results aren’t exactly inspiring. They came down to the wire against Hawaii in the opener and against Rice a few days later and didn’t exactly look incredible in the process. Oregon played their best game this week in a 12-point win over rival Oregon State and might finally be figuring things out with this new lineup and in the nick of time as the Players Era Festival and some intense matchups await them shortly.
12. Northwestern (4-0)
Like a few other teams in this league it’s been four games and four wins for Northwestern but it’s another case of the schedule being a bit uninspiring. There were few complaints in three blowout wins to open the campaign before clinging to a tough 2-point road win at DePaul a week ago. They’re facing much stiffer competition at the Greenbrier Classic and we’ll certainly learn a bit more about these Wildcats and if they really are going to be a middle-tier Big Ten team once again.
11. Nebraska (5-0)
The first three games of the season saw the Cornhuskers take care of business at home against a bunch of overwhelmed mid-majors. These last few games have been what’s given us a good look at Fred Hoiberg’s crew, starting with last weekend’s impressive win in a shootout against Oklahoma. Thursday night saw Nebraska take down New Mexico in Kansas City as part of the Hall of Fame Classic and getting another win over Kansas State on Friday could really show that the Cornhuskers could be a team to sneak into the Big Dance.
10. Ohio State (5-0)
When the dust settles Ohio State could be a much better or much worse team but somewhere in the middle of the pack feels right for them so far. They’ve had five wins, four of which came by double-digits against mid-major foes, including a bizarre shootout on opening night against IU Indy. The other contest was last weekend, with the Buckeyes holding on for a close win over Notre Dame at home. Eventually we’ll see the Buckeyes away from Columbus and start to get a better idea on what this team can accomplish this year.
9. Iowa (5-0)
The debut for Ben McCollum couldn’t be going much smoother with five straight wins, even if the level of competition hasn’t exactly been top notch. The former Northwest Missouri State and Drake coach is winning with the same players, including a 19-point win over Big East foe Xavier just a week ago. The numbers don’t jump off the page, but the average margin of victory for this team is nearly 28 points per game even against weaker foes. Iowa is another team we need to see win ballgames away from home, and we’ll get that chance next week at the Acrisure Classic.
8. USC (4-0)
The first three games of the season for the Trojans were each solid wins, topping three straight foes by at least 20 points apiece. Eric Musselman came into the year with a new crop of talent, hoping to get the Trojans to a more successful second season in the Big Ten. The trajectory is still upwards, especially after the Trojans avoided disaster late Thursday night, somehow surviving Troy in a 3-overtime thriller at home. No more comfort at home for USC, who heads to the Maui Invitational with a legitimate shot at building their resume in Hawaii if they can play better on defense.
7. UCLA (4-1)
You could easily argue that UCLA’s entire body of work is underwhelming for a ranked team, but they’re still sitting at #19 despite early shortcomings. They didn’t exactly blowout any of their early foes and then lost a tough, heartbreaking matchup against a great Arizona team last week. UCLA blew out Sacramento State earlier this week and should do the same against Presbyterian but they’ll need to show they can play this great against real opposition. They get their first chance in the Empire Classic against former league rival Cal in just a few days.
6. Indiana (5-0)
It’s still very early but Darian DeVries is handling the early challenges in his first season in Bloomington with five straight wins to begin his tenure. The most impressive of the bunch was a 23-point win over Marquette in Chicago in the season’s opening weekend, though a tough shooting performance made their win over Incarnate Word much closer than expected a few days back. Indiana handled the first real test of the season but Big Ten play will give them many more, meaning Tucker DeVries and company have a lot of work ahead of them.
5. Wisconsin (4-0)
The Badgers are hoping that they can finally make another decent run during March Madness, but we’re far away from thinking about the postseason. For now, Greg Gard’s squad has taken care of its business with four straight wins, all of which were by at least 25 points or more. The offense has been excellent, averaging better than 90 points per game, though questions remain about the defense. It’ll certainly be tested Friday night against BYU and we may learn a thing or two about this roster and this team’s potential for the weeks and months ahead.
4. Michigan (4-0)
When the dust settled on the postseason, Michigan had brought in one of the best transfer classes in the nation, but all rotations need time to gel. The Wolverines impressed on opening night, but struggled against Wake Forest and TCU in their first two challenges of the season. Clearly Michigan held on for wins in both games, needing overtime against the Demon Deacons, but the shooting has been rather cold even as the defense has looked strong. The Players Era Festival will show us a lot more about this new lineup’s potential very soon.
3. Illinois (4-1)
The early metrics for Illinois are fantastic, especially after several games dropping over 110 points to begin the season. Illinois scored a great win over Texas Tech just over a week ago to strengthen its early start, but unfortunately fell to Alabama in Chicago this week. There’s no question that Alabama is an impressive program and that this isn’t some big upset, but it’s still a disappointment how things developed for Brad Underwood’s squad. Regardless, they still have the talent to potentially win this entire league, especially as everyone starts to get healthy.
2. Michigan State (4-0)
Nobody can deny that Michigan State played Colgate closer than expected on opening night, but they’ve also notched a pair of great performances since then. Tom Izzo’s squad held on for a nice win over Arkansas and is now truly battle-tested, coming off a 17-point upset win over Kentucky during the Champions Classic this week. We don’t yet know what this means long-term for the Spartans, especially with hot and cold shooting, but this team plays hard and was atop the Big Ten standings just last season.
1. Purdue (5-0)
Many had Purdue as a national favorite before the season began, and indeed the top team in the Big Ten. Their early play has defended that, with the win over Alabama the biggest eyebrow-raiser on this early schedule. The Boilermakers survived early without Trey Kaufman-Renn and are still coming together as a team, with a strong late effort to beat Memphis in the Bahamas on Thursday night. They have a chance for a second-ranked win already if they can knock out Texas Tech on Friday.