Big Ten men’s basketball power rankings for February 23

The top teams in the Big Ten remain intact, and Wisconsin revealed itself as a dangerous force heading into March. A lot of the top competing teams will have to bounce back from last week’s disappointing losses, as do the USC Trojans. Now is the time to display the best a team can offer. This last stretch of games will reveal the contenders and the pretenders. The USC Trojans hope to be on the right side of that, but they took a step back against Oregon.

Here are my Big Ten men’s basketball power rankings after the past week of Big Ten Conference play:

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Michigan has dominated the Big Ten for this entire season, but on Saturday, they proved they still have some until they can take over college basketball. When it is time to face a team that has a lottery pick on its squad, it takes a little bit more than what Michigan has been doing to take down its Big Ten foes.

2. Illinois Fighting Illini, 22-6

Illinois has a great body of work, and this is a team that has been consistent all season long. Illinois has three losses in the past month, all of which have been decided in overtime. They lost to UCLA due to a buzzer-beater in overtime this past weekend. Illinois is still better than the next batch of Big Ten contenders, but they can not live and die by the 3-point line.

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3. Purdue Boilermakers, 22-5

Purdue can pass the ball around with the best of them, and their offense will keep them with the best teams in the country. Blowing out Indiana was a greatly needed win. This team needs to be defensive, and then they can be a challenge to Michigan and Illinois.

4. Nebraska Cornhuskers, 23-4

The rest of the Big Ten has caught up to Nebraska. The good teams in the conference like their chances vs the Cornhuskers and Nebraska has not been able to respond in those type of games.

5. Wisconsin Badgers, 19-8

This team is a top 5 team in the conference when they want to be. After their blowout win vs Michigan State, they proved just how good they can be when they want to and…

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Publish date : 2026-02-23 22:48:00

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