Can anyone dethrone Michigan? A near unprecedented stretch of dominance earned the Wolverines the No. 1 spot in HHQ’s Big Ten Power rankings for the second consecutive edition.
With history made and top-25 clashes abundant, an elite hoops conference continues to make its case for the premier league in the land. So, who is hot on the tails of the seemingly unstoppable Wolverines? Head to Hoops HQ for definitive Big Ten Power rankings as 2026 gets under way.
*This article is part of an ongoing conference power ranking series. Read our recent editions using the buttons below.
1. Michigan (13-0)
The Wolverine train continued to roll in Ann Arbor with a 96-66 throttling of then-No.24 USC on Friday night. Dusty May’s squad, which has won their last 10 matchups by an average of 35.5 points per contest, opened the game on an 11-0 run.
Once again, Illinois transfer Morez Johnson Jr. dominated for Michigan. The sophomore forward uncorked for 29 points and 6 rebounds, an outing which immediately followed a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double in the team’s previous game.
Vegas expects continued dominance out of this incredibly deep Wolverine group. FanDuel has Michigan at +330 to take home the title, with Arizona closest behind at +750.
2. Purdue (13-1)
“He’s special,” said the head coach of the Big Ten’s new all-time assist leader. “He’s elite.”
Braden Smith garnered heavy praise from Matt Painter following his record-breaking 891st assist as a Boilermaker, allowing him to surge ahead of former Michigan State star Cassius Winston. Smith now sets his sights on Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assist mark, which sits at 1,076.
While Smith continues his pursuit of history, Purdue continues its pursuit of a national championship, which would be the first in the history of a storied program. With a deep starting group that has four players averaging double figures and a talented, hungry bench, the Boilermakers undoubtedly possess the firepower to make a run. They took care of business in Madison Saturday night, defeating the Badgers 89-73.
3. Nebraska (15-0)
A historic start to the 2025-26 season endured its toughest test yet Friday night in Lincoln. On the backs of a combined nine three-point makes from Rienk Mast and Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort, and a raucous crowd at Pinnacle Bank Arena, Nebraska defeated then-No.9 Michigan State 58-56.
On Jan. 5 at Ohio State, true freshman forward Braden Frager finished the contest a hero. The hometown kid totaled 15 points off the bench to make up for a rare off-night from Mast and Sandfort, helping the Huskers secure a 72-69 road victory.
Mast, who poured in 19 points in the crucial conference victory over MSU, leads the Huskers with 16.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while Sandfort adds more than 16 points per contest. Nebraska gets set for a stretch of six consecutive unranked conference foes before a showdown with No. 2 Michigan to close out the month.
4. Michigan State (13-2)
Vintage toughness and defense showed up for Tom Izzo’s team at Nebraska Friday night. Unfortunately for the Spartans, offensive production (aside from Jaxon Kohler) did not make the trip.
Kohler, a senior big man, continued to impress with 19 points and 11 rebounds, his ninth double-double of the season and fifth in a row. He leads State in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (10.4). Sophomore Jeremy Fears Jr. has dished out 9.1 assists per game, good for No. 2 in the nation. In response, Sparty thrashed USC Monday night, driven by 15 points and 7 assists from Fears.
5. Illinois (11-3)
Led by freshman phenom Keaton Wagler, the Illini bounced back nicely from their first conference defeat with a 91-48 walloping of rival Missouri on a neutral floor. Wagler, the No. 1 player from Kansas in the class of 2025 according to 247, leads Illinois with 15.4 points per game.
Behind Wagler, the Illini also get double-figure scoring from Kylan Boswell and Cal transfer Andrej Stojaković, while David Mirkovic leads the team with 8.4 rebounds per contest. Illinois’s 87.1 points per game ranks No. 3 in the conference.
6. Iowa (12-2)
A pair of road defeats at the hands of then-No. 7 Michigan State and No. 3 Iowa State remain the only blemishes on Ben McCollum’s first season at the helm in Iowa City. Drake transfer Bennett Stirtz led Iowa in scoring for the eighth time this season against UCLA, scoring 27 on an efficient 8 of 10 from the field in a 74-61 win.
Junior forward Alvaro Folgueiras and guard Tavion Banks added more than 10 points in each of the last three games for the Hawkeyes, a trend that will likely need to continue with clashes with No. 16 Illinois and No. 5 Purdue looming.
7. Indiana (11-3)
While Tucker DeVries continues to find his footing in Bloomington (the senior is hitting at just a 34.5 percent clip from beyond the arc, his worst mark since his freshman season), Sam Houston transfer Lamar Wilkerson has consistently been there to pick up the slack.
Following his 44-point outburst against Penn State on Dec. 9, the senior has maintained steady production, averaging just under 20 points per game. He scored 22 to drive Indiana’s 90-80 victory Sunday night versus Washington. DeVries, Troy transfer Tayton Conerway and Davidson transfer Reed Bailey round out the Hoosiers averaging double figures, dropping 15.5, 12.5 and 10.1 points per contest, respectively.
8. USC (12-3)
Despite a season-ending injury to one transfer star, seniors Chad Baker-Mazara and Ezra Ausar have not skipped a beat. No. 2 Michigan and No. 12 Michigan State managed to limit the pair, forcing 18 combined turnovers, but tough nights facing two of the top teams in the country far from disparages the performance from the duo as the season has progressed.
Baker-Mazara leads the Trojans with 20.4 points per game. Ausar, who began his career with a pair of seasons at East Carolina before playing for Utah a year ago, has given coach Eric Musselman 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest.
9. Ohio State (10-4)
With 20 points in an 80-73 win Friday night at Rutgers, senior point guard Bruce Thornton propelled himself to eighth on the all-time scoring list in Buckeye history. Thornton, who added 10 rebounds to secure his second double-double of the season, surpassed Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Jay Burson.
Jake Diebler’s team took No. 10 Nebraska down to the wire Monday night in Columbus behind 22 points from sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. Mobley Jr. averages 14.1 points per contest, while Santa Clara transfer Christoph Tilly has poured in 13 points and snared a team-leading 5.7 rebounds per game.
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10. UCLA (10-4)
Similar to DeVries at Indiana, highly touted transfer Donovan Dent has struggled to adjust to his first year in the Big Ten. Sure, the New Mexico transfer delivered a season-high 25 points in the loss to Iowa, but Dent’s field goal and three-point percentages remain career-lows.
The Bruins picked up three consecutive wins prior to the Iowa defeat, highlighted by a career-high 34 points from senior Tyler Bilodeau in a 97-65 win over UC Riverside on Dec. 23. Ultimately, zero wins over opponents ranked in KenPom’s top 50 led to UCLA’s slide in the rankings.
11. Washington (9-5)
Forced to play without their minutes leader, Wesley Yates III, who underwent surgery on his wrist as reported on Dec. 29, the Huskies fell shy on the road in Bloomington. Despite the poor injury luck Danny Sprinkle and his staff have endured this season, the head man made a New Year’s resolution centered around optimism: “To try to be a little more positive and be able to roll with the punches,” Sprinkle said.
Outstanding performances from freshman forward Hannes Steinbach will certainly aid that goal. The Germany native eclipsed the 20-point mark in each of the Huskies’ last three contests. With Yates sidelined, fellow USC transfer Desmond Claude has played an integral role on the offensive end, providing 15.1 points per game.
12. Minnesota (9-5)
Under first-year head man Niko Medved, the 2025-26 Golden Gophers rank No. 4 in the conference in team defense, allowing just 65.7 points per contest. However, aside from North Carolina transfer Cade Tyson, whose 22.1 points per game are good for No. 9 in the nation, Minnesota has been unable to generate consistent offense. The Gophers average 73.5 points offensively, above only Rutgers in the Big Ten.
Without 20 points or more from Tyson, Minnesota is just 2-3. The recipe to slowing down the Gophers starts and ends with defending the sharpshooter from the Tar Heel State. Tyson and Minnesota welcome No. 19 Iowa into Williams Arena on Jan. 6.
13. Wisconsin (9-5)
Strong play from portal star Nick Boyd kept the Badgers in striking distance Saturday night versus Purdue. A San Diego State transfer who started his career with three seasons at FAU, Boyd tallied 24 points. The senior is averaging a team-leading 19.5 points per game.
Unfortunately for Badger fans, consistency from returnees John Blackwell and Nolan Winter has not been enough to supplement subpar seasons from transfers Austin Rapp (Portland) and Andrew Rohde (Virginia), who have struggled to open their tenures in Madison.
14. Oregon (8-7)
Oregon hit another speed bump on Jan. 5 at Rutgers, falling short in spite of an electric 23-point performance from sophomore Wei Lin, which drew cries of “LINSANITY” from play-by-play announcer John Fanta. Senior center Nate Bittle finished with 28 points and 8 rebounds. He leads the Ducks with 16.1 points per contest.
Victories in four of their last five entering Monday night offered a glimmer of hope for Duck fans. With the sole loss to then-No. 7 Gonzaga in a tightly contested battle on Dec. 21, Dana Altman’s group appeared to be heating up. Instead, falling to last-place Rutgers earns the Ducks a spot in the bottom-third of the power rankings.
15. Penn State (9-5)
As the highest-rated recruit in Penn State basketball history, a certain level of pressure followed Kayden Mingo to University Park. Thus far, the freshman guard has handled it with ease, leading the team in all major categories aside from blocks.
Mingo, who has averaged 14.9 points per game to start the season, helped the Nittany Lions stay competitive with then-No. 9 Michigan State and then-No. 20 Illinois. However, just two of his teammates average double figures. With No. 2 Michigan and No. 5 Purdue next on the docket, Mingo will need all the support he can get, and then some.
16. Northwestern (8-6)
Despite Nick Martinelli’s best efforts, Northwestern fell shy against Minnesota to drop to 0-3 in the Big Ten. Martinelli, who has been the heart and soul of basketball in Evanston for the last two seasons, scored 26 points and pulled in 6 rebounds.
The senior from Glenview, Ill. is averaging 23 points per game which lands him at No. 3 in the country. Unfortunately, as was the case versus Minnesota and has been for a majority of the season, Cincinnati transfer Arrinten Page was the sole Wildcat starter to contribute alongside Martinelli.
17. Rutgers (8-7)
The Scarlet Knights offense ranks dead last in the Big Ten, averaging just 69 points per game. Rutgers owns the lowest field goal percentage in the conference, and narrowly avoided that title for three-point percentage.
Suffice it to say, offensive struggles have held back Rutgers in 2025-26. Sophomore Dylan Grant (14.4) and NJIT transfer Tariq Francis (13.9) are the lone Scarlet Knights averaging double figures in scoring.
Francis enthralled a sell-out home crowd Monday night in Piscataway, driving his team’s first conference victory with 30 points in an 88-85 overtime thriller over Oregon. Rutgers recorded their highest point total of the season in the win.
18. Maryland (7-7)
Wins over Wagner and Old Dominion are sandwiched between six losses to high-major squads for the Terrapins, three of those to open conference play. Maryland took a lead into the break against No. 2 Michigan, but were unable to hold up defensively in an eventual 101-83 defeat on Dec. 13.
Kansas transfer David Coit exploded for 31 points, but Buzz Williams and his staff lost Pharrel Payne to an injury in the same contest. Payne, who migrated east with his coach from Texas A&M, led the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game prior to sustaining an apparent leg injury.
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