Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central - November 11-17
BIG TEN MEN'S BASKETBALL
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BIG TEN STATISTICS
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NCAA STATISTICS
BIG TEN SCHEDULE & RESULTS
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BIG TEN STANDINGS
NCAA AP TOP 25 POLL
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NCAA USA TODAY TOP 25 POLL
Big Ten. Big News.
- The Big Ten boasts a 36-2 overall record entering Tuesday’s action, second most wins and second highest win percentage (.947) of any conference in the country, behind only the ACC (39-1, 0.975). Among those victories, 33 have come on home floors.
- Eleven Big Ten teams were recognized in Monday’s AP and USA Today Coaches Polls. The AP Top 25 included No. 2 Purdue, No. 6 Michigan, No. 14 Illinois, No. 15 UCLA, No. 17 Michigan State, and No. 24 Wisconsin. Purdue remains No. 1 in this week’s coaches poll, followed by No. 5 Michigan, No. 14 Illinois, No. 15 UCLA, No. 17 Michigan State, and No. 23 Wisconsin. Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon, and USC also received votes in both polls.
- This week’s game schedule includes a pair of games against ranked opponents. On Thursday, No. 2 Purdue will head south to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to face No. 8 Alabama. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESNP2. On Friday, No. 15 UCLA will face former PAC-12 rival No. 5 Arizona in the Intuit Dome. Fans can catch the action at 10 p.m. ET on Peacock.
- On Monday, the Big Ten announced its first weekly award winners for the 2025-26 season. Indiana’s Tucker DeVries and Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton shared Player of the Week honors. DeVries paired 22.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 58.8 from three-point range. The redshirt senior opened the season with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in a win over Alabama A&M then shot 6-9 from three-point range en route to a 27-point, five rebound performance in a win over Marquette. Thornton averaged 32.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game which shooting 77.8 percent from the floor and 7-of-12 from long range. The Buckeyes’ guard opened the season with 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal in a victory over IU Indianapolis. He then scored a career-high 38 points on 14-of-17 shooting and 5-of-8 from distance in a win over Purdue Fort Wayne, the most points for a Buckeye since Jared Sullinger had 40 points in 2010.
- Illinois’ David Mirkovic was named Freshman of the Week after averaging 18.0 points and 12.5 rebounds while shooting 57% from the field and 91% from the free-throw line in a pair of Illini victories. Mirkovic tallied 19 points, game-high 14 rebounds and four assists vs. Jackson State, becoming the first UI freshman since Kofi Cockburn to debut with a double-double. The rookie added a second double-double against Florida Gulf Coast, totaling 17 points with a game-high 11 rebounds.
- Milestone Watch... Congratulations to Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg, who earned his 200th career victory in last week’s season-opening win over West Georgia... Congratulations to Indiana’s Tucker DeVries who surpassed 2,000 career points in the Hoosiers’ season-opening win over Alabama A&M. DeVries is the only active player in the country with 2,000 career points.
- Five Big Ten players, Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz, Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith, and UCLA’s Donovan Dent were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Preseason Player of the Year Watch, with Lendeborg and Smith also named to the AP Preseason All-America Team. The quintet was also among the 13 players named to the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Watch List. Also on the preseason watch list are Illinois’ Tomislav Ivisic and Andrej Stojakovic, Indiana’s Tucker DeVries, Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli, Oregon’s Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad, Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton, and Wisconsin’s John Blackwell.
- The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame recently announced the preseason watch lists for its national player of the year awards at the five traditional court positions. Twenty-six student-athletes from 15 different Big Ten schools were named to the preseason watch lists at all five positions. A complete list of honors can be found on Page 2.
- The 29th annual TIAA Big Ten Tournament will be played at the United Center in Chicago, March 10th – 15th, 2026. For the first time, all 18 Big Ten teams will compete for the tournament title. The tournament will open with a pair of games on Tuesday, March 10 and culminate with championship on Sunday March 15.
- For the second consecutive year, Purdue’s Braden Smith has been named the 2025-26 Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, as chosen by a select media panel. The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus First Team All-American, Smith averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4.5 rebounds a season ago before being named the recipient of the Bob Cousy Award, given annually to the nation’s top point guard by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition to setting a Big Ten record with 175 assists in conference play, Smith became the only player in NCAA history to amass at least 550 points, 300 assists, 150 rebounds, and 75 steals in a season.
- The media panel also selected a 10-member Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Eight of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are represented on the team, with Smith the lone unanimous selection. The Purdue guard is joined by teammate Trey Kaufman-Renn, Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz, Michigan’s Yaxel Lendenborg, Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli, Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton, Oregon duo Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad, UCLA’s Donovan Dent, and Wisconsin’s John Blackwell.