Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central - February 10-16
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.
- Entering tonight’s games Michigan sits atop the league standings at 12-1, one game north of Illinois, followed by Nebraska and Michigan State. Purdue and UCLA owns nine conference victories, one more than Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana. All 18 teams had recorded at least one league victory.
- The Big Ten will play one of its two remaining nonconference games on Saturday, as Ohio State faces No. 15 Virginia at the Nashville Hoops Showdown at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Tip is slated for 8 p.m. ET on FOX. With the completion of the traditional nonconference schedule, the Big Ten owns a nonconference record of 157-39, the second-best win percentage (.801) of any conference, behind only the Big 12 (.806). Big Ten teams have defended home court to the tune of an 118-4 (.967) record in non-conference home games, the highest non-conference home winning percentage of any D-I conference. The final nonconference game will be on Feb. 21, when Michigan faces Duke in Washington, D.C.
- Entering Tuesday’s games, Big Ten teams have combined to win 43 Quad 1 games, with 13 teams scoring at least one Quad 1 win, and 62 Quad 2 victories. At 8-0, Michigan (8-0) joins Arizona (8-1) as the only teams with eight Quad 1 wins, while the Wolverines join Purdue and Michigan State in a group of 11 teams with at least six Quad 1 wins. The Big Ten also boasts four teams in a group of 17 nationally with at least 10 Quad 1 and 2 wins: Michigan (16-1), Nebraska (11-2), Michigan State (10-4), and Illinois (10-4).
- Through games on Monday, Feb. 9, the Big Ten boasts 12 teams in the top 75 spots in the NET Rankings, including three in the top 10 and 11 in the top 50. Michigan leads the Big Ten tops the list at No. 1, followed by No. 4 Illinois, No. 10 Purdue, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Michigan State, and No. 20 Iowa. Indiana, UCLA, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and USC also claimed spots in the top 50. No other conference in the country has more teams in the top 10 (Big 12 - 3), top 25 (Big 12 - 6), top 50 (SEC – 10).
- The Big Ten currently ranks second in today’s Kenpom conference rankings (+18.26), behind only the SEC (+19.49). Thirteen of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are ranked in the top 75 of the Kenpom rankings after Mondays’ games, including six in the top 25 and 12 in the top 50. Michigan tops the list at No. 1, followed by No. 4 Illinois, No. 9 Michigan State, No. 10 Purdue, No. 12 Nebraska, and No. 18 Iowa. No other conference has more teams in the top 10 (Big 12 - 3) or top 50 (SEC - 12).
- Six Big Ten teams were ranked or received votes in this week’s AP and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls released on Monday, Feb. 9, including five ranked in the top 13. Michigan led the way at No. 2 on the AP list, followed by No. 7 Nebraska, No. 8 Illinois, No. 10 Michigan State, and No. 13 Purdue, while Iowa also received votes. The Wolverines stayed No. 2 in Coaches poll, while Illinois sits at No. 7, followed by No. 8 Nebraska, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 12 Purdue, and No. 25 Iowa.
- Indiana redshirt senior guard Lamar Wilkerson and Iowa senior guard Bennett Stirtz were each named Big Ten Co-Players of the Week on Monday. Wilkerson earned his second Player of the Year honor after averaging 29.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per game as Indiana split a pair of games. The Ashdown, Ark. native opened the week with 33 points, four rebounds, and three steals in an 81-75 loss at USC. He then posted 25 points, including a pair of free throws to send the game to overtime and all six of Indiana’s points in the extra frame, in a 78-77 win over Wisconsin.
- Stirtz claimed his second consecutive award after recording 29 points, 3.5 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals while playing all but four seconds as the Hawkeyes went 2-0. The senior from Liberty, Mo. shot 60.6 percent (20-of-33) from the field, 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from long range and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line in the two wins. In an 84-74 win at Washington, Stirtz paired 22 points and five assists. The senior led the Hawkeyes to a 76-70 win over Wisconsin with a career-high 36 points.
- USC freshman Alijah Arenas was named Freshman of the Week after recording 26.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in leading the Trojans to a pair of wins. The freshman from Woodland Hills, Calif. paired a career-high 29 points and six rebounds in an 81-75 win over Indiana. Arenas closed the week with 24 points, including the game-winning basket with 0.7 seconds to play, in a 77-75 victory at Penn State.
- Milestone Watch... With 958 career assists, Purdue’s Braden Smith enters tonight’s game ranked eighth on the NCAA Div. I all-time assists list. Only four players have collected 1,000 career assists, including NCAA record holder Bobby Hurley (1,076)... USC’s Gabe Dynes stands just eight blocked shots from becoming the fourth active Div. I player in the country with 200 career blocked shots. … Illinois head coach Brad Underwood enters this week with 294 career victories, while Purdue head coach Matt Painter is three wins shy of 250 conference victories.
- 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.