The Big Ten Conference’s men’s basketball standings for its 18 teams have changed quite a bit with a little over a month left of conference play remaining.
Eight teams remain under .500 in the conference, but the middle of the pack teams have beaten and bruised one another. The week was filled with upsets and competitive battles between some of the conference’s better teams, which moved around in the standings.
Here is where every Big Ten team currently stands.
18. Oregon, 1-10
The Ducks have been dealing with injuries, but that’s no excuse for a team to be on an eight game losing streak with a majority of the losses being blowouts. Now they find themselves at the bottom of the standings with their only conference win coming against one of the other one win teams in Maryland.
17. Penn State, 1-10
The Nittany Lions have consistently been blown out by Big Ten teams, but they have a couple of games where they managed to nearly cause an upset. They finally were able to do just that against Minnesota on Sunday, but now they have Michigan next on their schedule.
16. Maryland, 1-9
The Terrapins are coming off of a difficult stretch on their schedule with consecutive losses to three ranked opponents. It doesn’t get much easier for Maryland the rest of the way as their offense has constantly been unable to put up points and their defense has been abused by the stronger offenses in the conference.
15. Northwestern, 2-9
The Wildcats managed to get another win this week, but it came against Penn State, which wasn’t exactly a powerhouse team in the conference. Unless they can pull off miraculous upsets in their next four games against teams that have all been ranked at some point this season, they should remain at the bottom of the standings.
14. Rutgers, 2-9
The Scarlet Knights are currently on a five-game losing streak after the USC Trojans were able to hold off a late game rally by Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have had their chances at upsets, but have just been unable to steal one. They have UCLA coming up next, so it’s unlikely they will head into the Pauley Pavilion and force them into back to back losses at home.
13. Minnesota, 3-8
The Golden Gophers are on a seven-game losing streak after they started conference play going 3-1 with their loss being against Purdue. During that stretch, Minnesota’s defense has collapsed and their offense has been unable to pick up the pieces to get them the win. After they lost to Penn State, the rest of their season looks a bit bleak, especially with Michigan State and Michigan remaining on their schedule.
12. Washington, 4-7
The Huskies got through their ranked opponents without a win, but the rest of their schedule has winnable games throughout it. Washington could easily move up, but it will be a challenge for their struggling offense and defense to go against some of the better Big Ten teams on their schedule such as Iowa, UCLA and Wisconsin.
11. USC, 5-6
The Trojans last five games have all been settled by a few points, so they easily could have had an 8-3 conference record. Their defense has just been unable to stop teams and were even challenged by a terrible Northwestern team that defeated them by six points. There’s winnable games left on their schedule for sure, but they have two ranked opponents, their two crosstown rival matchups and some of the better conference teams left.
10. Ohio State, 6-5
The Buckeyes have struggled to win back to back conference games this season with it only happening once with wins against UCLA and Minnesota. They will be coming off a 10-point loss to Wisconsin and their schedule remains tough with four ranked opponents left on their schedule and three other teams ahead of them in the conference standings.
9. Indiana, 6-5
The Hoosiers pulled off a stunning, upset win against UCLA in double-overtime over the weekend to setup a three game win streak that featured consecutive wins against Purdue and the Bruins. Indiana’s offense will get the credit, but their defense has shown up to limit opposing offenses.
8. Iowa, 6-4
The Hawkeyes have flown high as they extend their win streak to four wins thanks to senior guard Bennett Stirtz and an emphasis on strong defense. Iowa has the talent, but they still have a difficult stretch to closeout conference play with four ranked opponents remaining. If they can take a couple of those matches, then it could go a long way to strengthen their chances for the NCAA Tournament.
7. UCLA, 7-4
The Bruins come off a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Indiana to give UCLA their first loss at the Pauley Pavilion this season. UCLA needs to sturdy up their defense quickly with four ranked opponents remaining on their schedule and the Bruins falling back into the bubble discussion.
6. Wisconsin, 8-3
The Badgers remain just out of the top five teams, but they continue to strengthen their resume with wins against UCLA, Michigan and Ohio State. Wisconsin’s got defense, but their offense has been just as good with 90-point performances against the Wolverines and the Buckeyes.
5. Purdue, 8-3
The Boilermakers were once seen as the best team in the country, but they remain at No. 5, even with their three game losing streak coming to an end. There is still time for Purdue to right the ship and move back up in the standings, but they will need help since they already played and lost to Illinois.
4. Michigan State, 9-2
The Spartans lost their second ranked Big Ten game, but this time it came against their rival, Michigan. They still remain one of the best teams in the conference and country with a stout defense and powerful offense, but they will need to make adjustments when they play the Wolverines and their two other ranked opponents on their schedule.
3. Nebraska, 9-2
The Cornhuskers have had a rough week with consecutive losses to the two teams ahead of them, but they were able to keep both games close. The rest of their schedule currently doesn’t appear as difficult as the others with only one ranked opponent remaining and some of the worst conference teams left.
2. Illinois, 10-1
The Fighting Illini have shown that they can matchup with anyone as they are led by star freshman guard Keaton Wagler. Illinois’ only conference loss came against Nebraska by three, but since then they have defeated a ranked Iowa team, Purdue and Nebraska again. Michigan State will have a chance to take down the juggernaut, but it could become a clash of titans with a February matchup between Michigan.
1. Michigan, 10-1
The Wolverines get back to the top with consecutive wins against ranked opponents, Nebraska and Michigan State. Their offense has dominated the competition, but Michigan’s defense has been just as suffocating as they have trampled every team they have come across, except for their three-point loss to Wisconsin earlier in conference play.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Feb. 2 Big Ten men’s basketball standings: Michigan, Illinois rise
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
