Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central - Feb. 18-20

WEEKLY RELEASE - FEB. 18

Big Ten. Big News.

Entering this week’s action, Michigan was at the top of the B1G standings with a 12-2 mark in conference play. They were followed closely by Michigan State in second at 11-3, then Purdue in third at 11-4, Wisconsin in fourth at 10-4, Maryland and UCLA in tie for fifth at 10-5, Illinois in seventh at 9-7, and Nebraska, Oregon, and Ohio State in tie for eighth at 7-8.
Congratulations to Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, who won his 354th Big Ten game on Saturday. The Spartans’ 79-65 win at Illinois broke the mark previously held by Indiana’s Bobby Knight.
Milestone Watch... Congratulations to Washington’s Mekhi Mason scored his 1,000th career point in Saturday’s win over Penn State... UCLA’s Mick Cronin stands just one victory from becoming the fourth Big Ten head coach with 500 career wins. Cronin could join the exclusive club tonight, as the Trojans host Minnesota (10:30 p.m. ET, FS1)... Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg collected his 195th career victory on Sunday.
Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue have clinched their spots in the 2025 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament. Over the next few weeks, 15 teams will secure their spots in the tournament, set to return 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. Wisconsin’s John Tonje was named Big Ten Players of the Week, while Maryland’s Derik Queen collected Freshman of the Week honors. Tonje claimed his third Player of the Week honors this season after pairing 32 points, six rebounds, and three assists in leading the Badgers to a 94-84 win at Purdue. Tonje shot 10-for-15 from the floor, including 4-for-9 from three-point range, and 8-for-9 from the free throw line. Including his 41 points vs. No. 9 Arizona, Tonje is the nation’s only player to post multiple 30-point games vs. top 10 opponents this season. Tonje was also named one of five Oscar Robertson Trophy National Players of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
Queen averaged 21.0 points on 15-for-20 shooting from the floor and 12-for-13 at the free throw line and 12.0 rebounds in a 2-0 week for Maryland en route to his fifth Freshman of the Week honor and second in a row. Queen shot 9-for-11 from the field in a 24-point, 11-rebound performance in the 83-75 win at Nebraska then paired 18 points and 13 rebounds in a 101-75 victory over Iowa.
Seven B1G teams were ranked or received votes in the Associated Press and/or USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls released on February 17. Wisconsin leads the way at No. 11 in the AP lit, followed by No. 12 Michigan, No. 13 Purdue, No. 14 Michigan State, and No. 20 Maryland. Wisconsin and Michigan also hold the No. 11 and 12 spots in the coaches poll, followed by No. 13 Michigan State, No. 14 Purdue, and No.20 Maryland. Illinois and UCLA also received votes in both polls.
The Big Ten has collected 75 wins against Quad 1 opponents and 141 victories against Quad 1 and 2 teams combined. Illinois and UCLA lead the Big Ten with seven Quad 1 victories and are two of only 10 teams in the country with seven such wins. Six Big Ten teams have at least 10 combined Quad 1 and 2 wins, led by Purdue’s 14, tied for third most in the country. Wisconsin has 13, while Michigan has 11, one more than Illinois, Oregon, and UCLA.
Nine Big Ten teams were ranked in the top 40 and 14 in the top 70 in the NET Rankings through games on February 17. Wisconsin leads the group at No. 12, followed by No. 13 Purdue, No. 14 Maryland, No. 18 Illinois, No. 19 Michigan. No. 21 Michigan State, No. 23 UCLA, No. 28 Ohio State, and No. 31 Oregon. Nebraska, Indiana, Northwestern, Iowa, and USC also claimed spots in the top 70. Only the SEC has more teams in the top 40 (11), while its 14 top 75 entrants are tied with the Big Ten.
Ten of the Big Ten’s 18 teams rank in the top 40 of the Kenpom Ratings entering games on Feb. 18, including six in the top 20. Wisconsin leads the group at No. 9, followed by No. 10 Purdue, No. 14 Maryland, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 20 Illinois, No. 22 Michigan, No. 26 UCLA, No. 28 Ohio State, No. 34 Oregon, and No. 37 Nebraska. Only the SEC has more teams in the top 40 with 11.
Maryland’s starters combined to score 95 points in its 101-75 win over Iowa. The scoring amongst the starters was as follows: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (26 points), Derik Queen (18 points), Rodney Rice (18 points), Selton Miguel (17 points) and Julian Reese (16 points). It’s the second consecutive game and fifth time this season all five starters have surpassed 10 points. The five times is tied for the most in the country alongside Kentucky.
Michigan’s Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin have combined for 14 double-doubles on the season, but Saturday’s win at Ohio State marked just the third game in which each has recorded a double-double. Wolf, who leads the Big Ten with 11 double-dips, paired 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Goldin added 20 points and 10 boards.
Michigan State is 6-2 in true road games this season, including 5-2 in Big Ten games. Their five conference road wins are the most since the 2019-20 team earned six road victories. The Spartans have three road games left in the 2024-25 season.
Nebraska overcame a 20-point deficit to score a 68-64 win at Northwestern on Sunday, its largest comeback since joining the Big Ten. It matches the largest comeback by Nebraska since the 1996-97 season and marked the second consecutive game in which the Huskers have erased a double-digit deficit to earn a road victory.
Oregon connected on a season-high 13 three-pointers in Sunday’s win over Rutgers. Seven of the nine Ducks that saw action in the game hit at least one triple, with five draining at least two. Entering Sunday’s game, Oregon had only made 10 three-pointers three times this season, but the Ducks have now hit at least eight threes in their last four games.
UCLA is 8-1 over its last nine games. The Bruins have averaged 77.2 points and is shooting 48.9 percent from the floor, including 38.8 percent from three-point range, during the stretch. Eric Dailey Jr. has shot 54.2 percent and Tyler Bilodeau has shot 52.6 percent in those nine games.
Great Osobor posted six points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in Saturday’s win at Penn State. It marked the first non-points double-double by a Big Ten players since Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes had 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Syracuse on Nov. 29, 2016.
Wisconsin shot 61.5% in Friday’s win at Purdue, its best mark in a road game since at least 1993-94. Wisconsin is the only Division I team to shoot 60% from the field and commit 3 or fewer turnovers in a road game since at least 2010-11. The Badgers also went 20-for-22 (90.9%) from 2-point range, the highest 2FG pct. by any Division I team in a road game since at least 2010-11.
With one nonconference game remaining, the Big Ten owns a 160-37 record in nonconference games, 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. 18-20

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