As the start of conference play looms, the Big Ten improved its national perception with neutral-court performances.
Over the course of a week where most teams in the country are playing games with massive implications, the Big Ten is no different. As a result of impressive neutral-court and road performances, teams like Oregon and Wisconsin have surged in this update. But with other teams such as Iowa and Rutgers taking surprising losses to non-tournament teams, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Big Ten during the first half of Feast Week, even if a few teams are playing games in paradise.
Purdue – No. 2 Seed (No. 7 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 3 Seed (No. 10 overall)
After Purdue suffered its first loss of the season against Marquette, the Boilermakers bounced back with an 80-45 win over Marshall. Purdue has looked strong so far in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and will have two more chances to pick up quality wins before conference play. The Boilermakers play NC State and either BYU or Ole Miss at the Rady Children’s Invitational later this week. Purdue will likely be favored in each of its two games, and if Purdue could start the season 7-1 with three early Quad 1 or 2 wins, it would go a long way towards solidifying the Boilermakers’ resume.
Wisconsin – No. 3 Seed (No. 10 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 6 Seed (No. 24 overall)
Wisconsin was the biggest riser in the conference last week after the Badgers knocked off Arizona at home, but this week was arguably even more impressive. Wisconsin improved to 7-0 on the season with two wins at the Greenbrier Tip-Off. First, Wisconsin picked up a dominant 86-70 victory against a high-powered UCF offense in the semifinals of the tournament. In the second and final game of the tournament for the Badgers, Wisconsin beat Pitt 71-65. The story of the season so far for the Badgers has been the amazing play from John Tonje, the former Missouri and Colorado State guard. Tonje scored 33 points to secure the victory against Pitt and he’s averaging 23.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Indiana – No. 3 Seed (No. 12 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 4 Seed (No. 15 overall)
Indiana played a solid UNC Greensboro squad and claimed a 69-58 victory. The best signs for Indiana in that game were Myles Rice’s 20 points, including 14 in the first half, and freshman Bryson Tucker notching a season-high 14 points. The Hoosiers will now turn their attention to the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they are one of three ranked teams (also No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 24 Arizona) in the field. The first true tests of the season are coming up for Indiana, but there’s a decent chance it could at least end up in the Battle 4 Atlantis Finals, and, if it does so, it would send a statement to the rest of the Big Ten.
Oregon – No. 5 Seed (No. 20 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 10 seed (No. 37 overall, Last Four Byes)
Oregon might not have had the highest quantity or quality of resume-building wins in the conference this week (that honor would go to Wisconsin), but the Ducks gained the most ground in the bracket from their results this week. Oregon started the week with a 78-75 road victory over rival Oregon State, and ended the week with an 80-70 win in Las Vegas against No. 20 Texas A&M. Even though the argument can be made that Oregon should be 3-3, given the overtime win over Portland and close games with Oregon State and No. 20 Texas A&M, the reality is the Ducks are 6-0 and comfortably far from the bubble as things stand. The Ducks can really solidify their early-season foothold in the bracket if they can follow up the Texas A&M win with another victory against San Diego State today (and potentially another win in their final Players Era Festival game as well).
Illinois – No. 6 Seed (No. 22 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 5 Seed (No. 18 overall)
Illinois is making an early argument for the best offense in the conference, if not the best in the country. Even in the Fighting Illini’s humbling 100-87 loss to Alabama, Illinois put up points at will. Illinois shot just 10-for-40 from three-point range against Maryland Eastern Shore, but that game was still an 87-40 victory. The Fighting Illini really got back to business in their 92-34 demolition of Little Rock that featured a 21-0 run and 51-19 opening half. Illinois has a chance to claim its first major-conference victory when it faces No. 19 Arkansas on Thanksgiving in Kansas City.
Ohio State – No. 7 Seed (No. 26 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 7 seed (No. 28 overall)
Ohio State is one of just four Big Ten teams to skip out on the Feast Week neutral court action, so the Buckeyes won’t be much of a focus this week. Ohio State continued to look great when it boat raced Campbell 104-60 on Friday and followed that up with a dominant 102-69 win against Green Bay on Monday night. The Buckeyes play Pitt on Friday with a chance to pick up a quality win against a Panthers squad that almost took down No. 15 Wisconsin in Greenbrier earlier this week.
Maryland – No. 7 Seed (No. 28 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 8 seed (No. 31 overall)
Maryland only played one game in the past seven days, but that game was very meaningful. Facing a Villanova team with a ton of talent but already three losses on the season heading into Sunday, Maryland needed to remain poised to claim a comeback victory. The Terrapins trailed by as many as 14 points, but two late free throws by Derik Queen put Maryland over the edge in a 76-75 victory. Eric Dixon’s 38 points for Villanova made it dicey, but the Terrapins withstood the challenge and picked up a decent win.
Michigan – No. 9 Seed (No. 33 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 9 seed (No. 36 overall)
Michigan has not solved its turnover problem on offense, but (as you might expect from the Maize and Blue) have adopted a more football-esque team mentality of winning the turnover battle. The Wolverines did so against Tarleton State by forcing 24 giveaways (compared to 11 Michigan turnovers) in a 72-49 home victory against the Texans, and repeated that performance by forcing 19 Virginia Tech turnovers (Michigan coughed it up 15 times) in a 75-63 neutral court victory at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Michigan will have two big tests this week when it faces No. 22 Xavier, and then opens up conference play on the road against No. 15 Wisconsin.
Michigan State – No. 9 Seed (No. 36 overall)
Previous seeding: No. 8 seed (No. 32 overall)
Michigan State might be the most stable team in the Big Ten so far — that is neither a compliment, nor an insult. Simply put, the Spartans haven’t surprised anyone with any great wins so far, but also haven’t disappointed with any surprising losses. This week, Michigan State started off its Maui Invitational run strong by beating Colorado 72-56, but followed that up with a 71-63 loss to Memphis. Interestingly, both Colorado and Memphis beat No. 2 UConn in Maui, so that will certainly help the Spartans’ resume indirectly. Michigan State will have an opportunity to claim a statement victory when it takes on No. 12 North Carolina in a battle for third place in Maui later today.
Nebraska – No. 11 Seed (No. 43 overall, Last Four Byes)
Previous seeding: Out
Nebraska failed its first test of the season when it lost to Saint Mary’s, but the Cornhuskers picked up a quality win over the weekend, defeating then-No. 14 Creighton 74-63 on the road. Juwan Gary and Bryce Williams each put up 16 points in that victory and Connor Essegian, Berke Buyuktuncel and Rollie Worster all got into double-figures as well in the statement win. Nebraska moves back into a firm spot on the bubble in the Last Four Byes with a chance to move up further in the coming weeks.
Penn State – No. 11 Seed (No. 46 overall, Last Four In)
Previous seeding: No. 11 Seed (No. 42 overall, Last Four In)
Penn State has been one of the positive surprises of the season in the Big Ten, and even though the Nittany Lions’ undefeated start to the season came to an end last night, Penn State should be proud of how it has played to start the season. While a 102-89 win over Purdue Fort-Wayne and an 85-66 victory over Fordham didn’t significantly improve Penn State’s tournament outlook, it certainly didn’t hurt the outlook either. Clemson got the best of Penn State last night, beating the Nittany Lions 75-67 to claim the Sunshine Slam championship, but the Tigers look like a tournament team as well. Penn State will now gear up for the start of the conference season with one final tune up game against Buffalo at home.
Northwestern – Next Four Out
Previous seeding: Next Four Out
Northwestern finally got Brooks Barnhizer back from the injury that kept him out of the first four Wildcats games of the season. Barnhizer has looked good in his return, averaging 16.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals in his first two games, both wins for Northwestern. The Wildcats barely fended off Montana State 72-69 in his return, but responded with a 68-50 win against Pepperdine. Northwestern will have an opportunity to knock off a power conference opponent for the first time this season at the Arizona Tip-Off, where the Wildcats will play Butler and either UNLV or Mississippi State. Northwestern will then take on Iowa on the road in the conference opener, with the ‘Cats needing a 2-1 record in those three games to get closer to the bracket.
Rutgers – Next Four Out
Previous seeding: No. 9 seed (No. 34 overall)
Rutgers entered the week as a ranked team in the AP poll, but after a 79-77 road loss to Kennesaw State, the Scarlet Knights end the week outside of the tournament picture. That loss isn’t horrible, but it just isn’t the type of loss that teams can afford to have on a resume devoid of any good wins. Even with an 85-84 overtime win against Notre Dame, Rutgers still has work to do to make it back into the bracket. The good news for the Scarlet Knights is that they have a game against No. 9 Alabama coming up, as well as one more game after that in the Players Era Festival (opponent TBD) to potentially move back into the picture quickly.
UCLA – In Consideration
Previous seeding: In Consideration
UCLA didn’t play any challenging games this week, but the Bruins continued to take care of business. UCLA beat Cal State Fullerton 80-47 and beat Southern Utah 88-43. The Bruins’ offense has looked much better as the season has progressed, and they will play just their first major-conference opponent of the season when Washington visits Westwood on Tuesday.
Iowa – In Consideration
Previous seeding: First Four Out
Iowa started the week on the bubble without really having any impressive victories, and the Hawkeyes end the week even farther out of the picture after losing 77-69 to Utah State at home. Utah State is a quality opponent, but not one Iowa should be losing to at home if it wants to make the tournament. The Hawkeyes bounced back with a 110-77 win against USC Upstate, but they will remain idle until kicking off the Big Ten slate with a home game against Northwestern.
USC – Out
Previous seeding: Out
USC won both of its games this week, but the wins were relatively unimpressive. The Trojans won 82-69 against San Jose State and 80-69 against Grambling, but any NCAA tournament caliber team would win by larger margins in both games. USC plays Saint Mary’s and either New Mexico or Arizona State next week, and the Trojans need to go 2-0 to garner serious tournament consideration in next week’s update.
Washington – Out
Previous seeding: Out
Washington defeated Alcorn State 77-60 on Friday night. Tyler Harris led the way with 27 points, and the Huskies will need the supporting cast around Great Osobor to keep improving if Washington wants to be a tournament team this year. The Huskies play Colorado State, either TCU or Santa Clara and then UCLA to close out this upcoming week, so it’s time for the Huskies to really show what they’re made of.
Minnesota – Out
Previous seeding: Out
Minnesota scraped by Central Michigan 68-65 in its only game this week. It might sound harsh to say this about a team early in the season, but it might be more realistic for the Golden Gophers to shift their goals to just making the Big Ten tournament, rather than looking at the Big Dance, considering how poorly they have played this season.