We’re 16 days into the regular season and every Big Ten team has played between three and five games. Only seven of the league’s 18 teams remain unbeaten.
Broken into three categories – moving up, moving down or staying steady – here’s a look at the movement in KenPom for each Big Ten program so far.
Since his initial rankings were released in October, teams in our moving-up category have improved their ranking by more than five spots. Teams in the moving-down category have fallen more than five spots. And teams staying steady have only moved between one and five spots in KenPom.
MOVING UP
Ohio State (started: 31; currently: 21) – The Buckeyes are the highest-ranked Big Ten team in KenPom after two weeks in the regular season. Ohio State had an impressive early season win against Texas in Las Vegas and has a pair of blowout wins at home against Youngstown State and Evansville. The only blemish on its record was a 78-64 loss at Texas A&M, a top 15 team in KenPom, last Friday.
Michigan (started: 36; currently: 27) – Turnovers have been a problem for Dusty May’s team – Michigan currently ranks 346th nationally in turnover percentage, but the Wolverines have won their three home games by a combined 87 points. The Wolverines did lose a neutral court game to Wake Forest on Nov. 10. That loss may not age well as the Demon Deacons have fallen to No. 84 in KenPom as of Wednesday morning.
Maryland (started: 37; currently: 30) – The Terps have played five home games and have blown out four bad teams while falling narrowly to Marquette 78-74 on Nov. 15. We’ll know much more about Maryland in early December when the Terps host Ohio State and travel to Purdue for their early Big Ten games.
Indiana (started: 39; currently: 32) – Hoosier fans must be pleased with the 3-0 start and the upward trajectory thus far. A season ago, Indiana’s early season struggles tanked the program’s computer rankings. The Hoosiers never recovered in a disappointing 19-14 season.
Wisconsin (started: 46; currently: 39) – No Chucky Hepburn, AJ Storr or Tyler Wahl, no problem so far for Greg Gard and the Badgers. Wisconsin had an impressive 103-88 win against Arizona on Nov. 15 before escaping with an 87-84 win against UT Rio Grand Valley on Monday.
Penn State (started: 61; currently: 33) – The Nittany Lions are a perfect example of how a team can move up by bludgeoning lesser opponents. Penn State beat Binghamton, UMBC and Saint Francis by a combined 121 points in its first three games. And then Penn State crushed Virginia Tech, one of the worst ACC teams, by 22 on a neutral floor. Ace Baldwin is off to a terrific start in State College, averaging 14.3 points, seven assists and 2.8 steals.
MOVING DOWN
Purdue (started: 10; currently: 23) – The fall for the Boilermakers was driven by an 18-point blowout loss to Marquette on the road Tuesday night. Purdue turned it over 15 times and scored just .85 points per possession. That loss followed an impressive 87-78 win against Alabama at Mackey Arena on Nov. 15.
Iowa (started: 33; currently: 40) – The Hawkeyes are 5-0, which includes a 76-66 win against Washington State in Moline, Illinois, on Nov. 15. As usual, Iowa is playing an up-tempo style and Payton Sandfort is averaging 17.8 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes per game.
Michigan State (started: 35; currently: 45) – Tom Izzo’s team blew out Monmouth and Niagara at the Breslin Center before falling to Kansas by eight in the Champions Classic in Atlanta. Since that loss, Michigan State beat Bowling Green by 14 and Samford by eight. Both games were in East Lansing and the margin of victory caused some downward moving in the rankings.
Northwestern (started: 50; currently: 61) – The Wildcats lost a competitive road game at Dayton but are struggling to put teams away. Brooks Barnhizer played for the first time this season on Tuesday against Montana State and Northwestern escaped with a 72-69 win. Before that, the Wildcats needed overtime to beat Eastern Illinois in Evanston.
Nebraska (started: 56; currently: 66) – An early season scare against Bethune Cookman tanked the Huskers in KenPom. Nebraska fell 15 spots as it only won that game by five on Nov. 9 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
USC (started: 57; currently: 78) – After narrowly escaping UT Arlington at home on Nov. 13, the Trojans lost by five at home to Cal and, as a result, have fallen 21 spots since the preseason. A narrow six-point win against Idaho State on Nov. 7 also didn’t help.
Minnesota (started: 59; currently: 77) – The Gophers lost a home game to North Texas, a very solid team from the AAC and then survived against Yale for a 3-point win on Nov. 16. Minnesota will fight an uphill battle just to make the Big Ten tournament this season.
Washington (started: 75; currently: 82) – The Huskies beat UC Davis by just six, UMass Lowell by five and lost by 10 at Nevada. Their only double-digit win so far came against Seattle Pacific, a Division II program. And Washington only won that game by 15.
STAYING STEADY
Illinois (started: 23; currently: 26) – The Fighting Illini have won three games by a combined 89 points against inferior competition. We’ll learn more about Illinois when it takes on Alabama tonight in Birmingham.
UCLA – (started: 26; currently: 25) – The Bruins have crushed three bad teams – Rider, Boston University and Lehigh – and lost to New Mexico on a neutral floor. Significant non-conference tests await, including Arizona, North Carolina, and Gonzaga.
Oregon (started: 29; currently: 31) – The Ducks survived an early scare against Portland and needed overtime to win that contest. This group, led by Jackson Shelstad, probably didn’t get the respect it deserved and could contend in the Big Ten title race.
Rutgers (started: 63; currently: 65) – The Scarlet Knights are 3-0 and just got Ace Bailey into the lineup for its most recent game, a 17-point win against Monmouth. Thus far, the Rutgers defense is ranked just No. 62 in KenPom and the loss of Cliff Omoruyi as a rim protector will be tough to overcome in the long term.
Filed to: Ken Pomeroy
