Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central - Feb. 25-27

WEEKLY RELEASE - FEB. 25

Big Ten. Big News.

Entering Tuesday’s games, Michigan and Michigan State are tied atop the Big Ten standings at 13-3, holding a two-game cushion over Maryland and Wisconsin at 11-5, while Purdue and UCLA sit at 11-6. Illinois and Oregon are tied for seventh at 9-8, with Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State and Rutgers claiming seven wins each.
Milestone Watch... Congratulations to Indiana’s Malik Reneau, who scored his 1,000th career point in Saturday’s win over Purdue... Congratulations to UCLA’s Mick Cronin, who joined the 500-career win club with the Bruins’ win over Ohio State on Sunday. Cronin joins Dana Altman (775), Tom Izzo (729), and Fran McCaffery (546) among the 24 active Division I head coaches with 500 career victories. McCaffery and Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg are also approaching milestones, as McCaffery has 295 wins at Iowa, while Hoiberg owns 195 career wins.
Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, UCLA, and Wisconsin have clinched their spots in the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament. With just under two weeks left in the regular season, nine more spots in the tournament will be secured, as the tournament returns to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on March 12-16. The tournament will be the first to feature a 15-team field and begin.
On Monday, the Big Ten announced its weekly men’s basketball awards. Oregon’s Nate Bittle was named Big Ten Players of the Week, while Michigan State’s Jase Richardson collected Freshman of the Week honors. Bittle paired 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.7 blocked shots in Oregon’s 3-0 week. The senior center recorded double-doubles in wins over Rutgers and at Iowa, then scored a game-high 23 points, including six in the extra period, as the Ducks claimed a 77-73 overtime win at No. 11 Wisconsin. Bittle was also named one of five Oscar Robertson Trophy National Players of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
Richardson averaged 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 assists while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor (10-of-18), 57.1 percent from three-point land (4-of-7) and 90.0 percent from the free throw line (9-of-10). as the Spartans scored a pair of top 20 wins. The rookie recorded a team-high 21 points in the Spartans’ 75-62 victory at No. 12 Michigan and tallied 12 points, three assists, and two steals in a victory over No. 13 Purdue.
Eight B1G teams were ranked or received votes in the Associated Press and/or USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls released on February 17. Michigan State leads the way at No. 8 in the AP poll, followed by No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 15 Michigan, No. 16 Maryland, and No. 20 Purdue. The coaches also listed Michigan State at No. 8, followed by the Badgers at No. 12, the Wolverines at 13, the Terps at 15, and the Boilermakers at 19. Illinois, Oregon, and UCLA also received votes in both polls.
The Big Ten has collected 91 wins against Quad 1 opponents and 169 victories against Quad 1 and 2 teams combined. Oregon leads the league with nine Quad 1 wins, one more than Michigan and Michigan State. The trio is among a group of only nine teams with at least eight Quad 1 wins. Michigan, Purdue and Wisconsin have collected 14 Quad 1 and 2 wins each, one more than Michigan State and Oregon. Only 11 teams nationally have earned 13 Quad 1 and 2 wins.
Nine Big Ten teams were ranked in the top 40 and 16 in the top 75 in the NET Rankings through games on February 24. Maryland leads the group at no. 11, followed by No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 14 Michigan State, No. 19 Purdue, No. 21 Michigan, No. 23 Illinois, No. 25 UCLA, No. 32 Oregon, and No. 34 Ohio State. Nebraska, Indiana, Northwestern, Iowa, Penn State, USC, and Rutgers are also listed in the top 75. Only the SEC has more teams in the top 40, with 12.
Nine of the Big Ten’s 18 teams rank in the top 40 of the Kenpom Ratings entering games on Feb. 25, including four in the top 20. Wisconsin leads the group at No. 9, followed by No. 10 Michigan State, No. 15 Maryland, No. 17 Purdue, No. 22 Michigan, No. 25 Illinois, No. 26 UCLA, No. 33 Ohio State, and No. 34 Oregon. Only the SEC has more teams in the top 40 with 11.
For the fourth straight contest, Indiana committed less than 10 turnovers. The stretch is the longest by a Hoosier team in the play-by-play database (dating back to the 1997-98 season). The Hoosiers have averaged 7.8 turnovers per game over the last four games.
Iowa’s Payton Sandfort led the Hawkeyes with 27 points and nine rebounds in their win over Washington. The senior’s 12th 20-point game of the season pushed him past 1,500 career points to become the second Hawkeye all-time with at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, and 250 three-pointers, joining Jeff Horner.
Michigan scored a season-low 49 points and shot 29.5 percent from the field in Monday’s win over Nebraska. The last time the Wolverines won a game scoring fewer than 50 points was a 49-43 victory over Illinois on Feb. 23, 2008.
In its win over Michigan, Michigan State had a 34-25 advantage in rebounding, collected 14 offensive rebounds and scored 15 second-chance points. The Spartans outrebounded their opponent for the 24th time this season and has a 20-4 record in those situations.
Oregon’s Nate Bittle is one of four players nationwide to total at least 370 points, 195 rebounds and 55 blocks, and joins Chris Boucher and Jordan Bell as the only Ducks to surpass those totals in a single season since 1996-97.
Penn State exploded for 89 points in its win over Nebraska as the Nittany Lions shot 60.7% from the field, their highest field goal percentage against a Big Ten team since 2007. For the season, Penn State is averaging 79.4 points per game, which currently tracks to best the program record for single season scoring average of 78.7 ppg that was set by the 1954-55 team.
Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper recorded 25 points, nine assists, and a career high six steals in the Scarlet Knights’ win over USC. Harper is the first player this season to have at least 25 points, nine assists, and six steals in a game this season and just the third freshman to do so since 2005, joining West Virginia’s Jordan McCabe in 2019 and Cincinnati’s Deonta Vaugh in 2006.
Since its loss at Rutgers on January 13, UCLA has shot 48.6 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three-point range, going 9-2 over that stretch. During the 11-game run, junior forward Tyler Bilodeau has shot 52.3 percent from the floor, including 53.6 percent from three-point distance (15-for-28).
The Big Ten finished its nonconference schedule with a 160-38 record, besting last season’ 144 nonconference victories. Among those wins, the B1G was 122-7 (.946) at home. The Big Ten’s 160 wins and .812 nonconference win percentage sit behind only the SEC’s 185 wins and .889 (185-23) win percentage.
The 2025 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 12-16. This will mark the 14th time the tournament has been held in Indianapolis. The tournament will be the first to feature a 15-team field and begin with three games on Wednesday, March 12. Peacock will televise the opening three games of the 2025 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, with second-round and quarterfinal games on Thursday and Friday slated for Big Ten Network. For the 28th consecutive year, CBS Sports will broadcast the semifinals and championship game on CBS, with those games also streaming live on Paramount+.

Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central - Feb. 25-27

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