Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg full press conference after victory over Indiana on Dec. 13, 2024
Check out Wilson Moore's latest Big Ten men's basketball rankings:
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1. Michigan State (10-2, 2-0 Big Ten)
Last week: beat Oakland 77-58, beat Florida Atlantic 86-69
This week: N/A
Wilson's take: The Spartans haven't played any meaningful basketball since the last rankings, but a stumble from Purdue lands them in the No. 1 spot. MSU is the same tough, physical team it was in early December, and the ceiling rises when shots are dropping from the perimeter.
2. Oregon (11-1, 1-1)
Last week: beat Stanford 76-61
This week: vs. Weber State
Wilson's take: Oregon is one of the most balanced teams in the Big Ten; the Ducks take care of the ball, grab more than their share of boards and have enough shooters on the perimeter to keep defenses honest. They picked up a convincing win over former conference rival Stanford over the weekend.
3. Purdue (8-4, 1-1)
Last week: lost to Auburn 87-69
This week: vs. Toledo
Wilson's take: It wasn't realistic to expect Purdue to be the same juggernaut it was a season ago. Zach Edey is now in the NBA, and no program can maintain the Boilers' level of dominance while losing the best player in the country. Purdue hadn't lost back-to-back games since February 2023 until this month.
4. Illinois (8-3, 1-1)
Last week: beat Missouri 80-77
This week: vs. Chicago State
Wilson's take: Kasparas Jakucionis looks like the best freshman in the conference. The 6-foot-6 Lithuanian is averaging 16.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 42.1% from 3-point range. He helped Illinois take No. 1 Tennessee down to the wire before a neutral-conference win over Missouri.
5. UCLA (10-2, 2-0)
Last week: lost to North Carolina 76-74
This week: vs. Gonzaga
Wilson's take: The Bruins are still in the AP top 25 despite only one notable win, at the buzzer over Oregon. The Bruins have also beaten Washington and an Arizona team that's lost to every high-major opponent it's seen. Saturday's loss to North Carolina included another scoring explosion from Tyler Bilodeau as he makes his case as the best transfer in the conference.
6. Maryland (10-2, 1-1)
Last week: beat Saint Francis 111-57, beat Syracuse 87-60
This week: vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
Wilson's take: Maryland continues to eviscerate opponents, led by its twin towers Derik Queen and Julien Reese. The Terrapins are big and aggressive on the boards like last season but now have the shooters around the perimeter to win games without them devolving into rock fights. Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Selton Miguel are both shooting above 40% from beyond the arc.
7. Michigan (9-3, 2-0)
Last week: lost to Oklahoma 87-86, beat Purdue Fort Wayne 89-58
This week: vs. Western Kentucky
Wilson's take: Michigan's past four games -- two wins, two losses -- have been decided by a combined 8 points. A wild 4-point play prevented the Wolverines from picking up a solid neutral-site win over Oklahoma, but they remain a matchup nightmare with a pair of seven-footers who can rebound, defend and put the ball on the floor.
8. Northwestern (9-3, 1-1)
Last week: beat DePaul 84-64
This week: vs. Northeastern
Wilson's take: Northwestern is an improbable Iowa 3-pointer away from having won nine of its past 10 games, including a takedown of Illinois to begin conference play. The Wildcats don't turn the ball over and are led by a balanced attack with three players averaging at least 14 points per game.
9. Nebraska (8-2, 1-1)
Last week: beat Murray State 66-49
This week: Diamond Head Classic
Wilson's take: A disastrous Big Ten opener against Michigan State leading into a comfortable win over Indiana may have given Nebraska emotional whiplash, but the Huskers' path to victory on a given night is becoming more clear. They have shooters and plenty of size under the basket, and Brice Williams is a good enough scorer to take over a game.
10. Wisconsin (10-3, 0-2)
Last week: beat Detroit Mercy 76-53
This week: N/A
Wilson's take: The good vibes of Wisconsin's hot start dissipated with three straight losses, including their first two Big Ten games. The Badgers recovered with a road win over Butler but remain on uneven ground. They played well early last season before fading down the stretch.
11. Indiana (9-3, 1-1)
Last week: beat Chattanooga 74-65
This week: vs. Winthrop
Wilson's take: For the umpteenth year in a row, Indiana can't shoot. That was fine when the Hoosiers were playing bully ball with Trayce Jackson-Davis, but without one of the best players in the country on the low block, they're just a team stuck in the wrong era. All the flashy transfer portal additions haven't been able to fix a problem that goes deeper than any of them.
12. Iowa (9-3, 1-1)
Last week: beat Utah 95-88
This week: N/A
Wilson's take: There are flashes of a really solid team in Iowa. The Hawkeyes hung with in-state rival Iowa State, one of the best teams in the country, before beating Utah at the Sanford Pentagon. They're a finesse team, struggling on the glass but shooting 38.7% from 3-point range.
13. Ohio State (8-4, 1-1)
Last week: beat Valparaiso 95-73, beat Kentucky 85-65
This week: vs. Indiana State
Wilson's take: Ohio State has its best win of the season after a domination of Kentucky came out of nowhere. The Buckeyes still haven't been competitive in two of their past four games against high-major opponents, although that can be forgiven to an extent against Auburn. OSU's January Big Ten slate, which includes games against Michigan State, Oregon and Wisconsin, will be telling.
14. Penn State (10-2, 1-1)
Last week: beat Drexel 75-64
This week: vs. Penn
Wilson's take: Penn State remains a hard team to evaluate because of its lack of competition. Its win over Purdue was and still is impressive, but the Nittany Lions have only beaten one other high-major team and lost to an unimpressive Rutgers team. Still Penn State appears to be moving in the right direction in Mike Rhoades' second season.
15. Rutgers (7-5, 1-1)
Last week: lost to Princeton 83-82
This week: N/A
Wilson's take: Rutgers is up to two losses to mid-major opponents after falling to Princeton at the buzzer. The Scarlet Knights have two ultra-talented freshmen in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. It's apparent, 12 games into the season, they're not enough to transform Rutgers into a team capable of hanging with the upper echelon of the conference.
16. USC (9-4, 1-1)
Last week: beat CSUN 90-69, beat Southern 82-51
This week: N/A
Wilson's take: USC hasn't played anybody of note since the last batch of rankings, finishing an intentionally easy non-conference slate as a team assembled entirely through the portal before Eric Musselman's first year learns how to play together. Omaha's Saint Thomas has been a versatile contributor, playing multiple positions and leading the Trojans in rebounding.
17. Washington (8-3, 0-2)
Last week: beat Washington State 89-73
This week: vs. Seattle, vs. NJIT
Wilson's take: UW's rivalry win over Washington State was important for bragging rights purposes. The Huskies might not get many other opportunities this season. They haven't shown any evidence of being a team that can compete in the Big Ten this season, taking care of business against mid-majors and losing both of its early conference games. It's still early as Danny Sprinkle tries to return the program to prominence.
18. Minnesota (7-5, 0-2)
Last week: beat Fairleigh Dickinson 74-60
This week: vs. Morgan State
Wilson's take: Minnesota began Big Ten play with blowouts at the hands of Michigan State and Indiana, then trailed Fairleigh Dickinson at halftime Saturday. There's no evidence the Gophers are a particularly good basketball team, and they'll stay in the basement of these rankings until they prove otherwise.