Thought it would be fun to have an ongoing thread to keep up with the Big Ten basketball season throughout the next few months, to see how things change every week or 2. We're about 1/4 of the way through the conference season, as all teams have played 5 or 6 Big Ten games thus far.
Standings: The current standings, as of 1/12, are below.
Contenders: Michigan and MSU look to be the top 2 contenders, along with Purdue, Illinois, Oregon, Wisconsin and Indiana in the mix. From my seat, it looks like Michigan/MSU at the top, and the next 2 strongest contenders, IMO, are Purdue and Illinois. Was great to see Illinois trip up and lose to USC this weekend (even with missing Jakucionas).
Schedules: One thing that is interesting is the conference schedules for each team. Everyone plays each school 1 time, and then has 3 teams that they play twice (home and away). Here are the teams that the leaders play twice:
-Michigan plays 2 against MSU, Purdue and Rutgers
-MSU plays 2 against Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota
-Illinois plays 2 against MSU, Wisconsin and Northwestern
-Purdue plays 2 against Michigan, Indiana and Rutgers
Question for the board - what conference record do you think the Big Ten regular season champion has? I'm going to predict Michigan wins the Big Ten at 17-3.
Standings: The current standings, as of 1/12, are below.
Contenders: Michigan and MSU look to be the top 2 contenders, along with Purdue, Illinois, Oregon, Wisconsin and Indiana in the mix. From my seat, it looks like Michigan/MSU at the top, and the next 2 strongest contenders, IMO, are Purdue and Illinois. Was great to see Illinois trip up and lose to USC this weekend (even with missing Jakucionas).
Schedules: One thing that is interesting is the conference schedules for each team. Everyone plays each school 1 time, and then has 3 teams that they play twice (home and away). Here are the teams that the leaders play twice:
-Michigan plays 2 against MSU, Purdue and Rutgers
-MSU plays 2 against Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota
-Illinois plays 2 against MSU, Wisconsin and Northwestern
-Purdue plays 2 against Michigan, Indiana and Rutgers
Question for the board - what conference record do you think the Big Ten regular season champion has? I'm going to predict Michigan wins the Big Ten at 17-3.
2024-25 Big Ten Standings
| Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 5-0 | - | 14-2 |
| Michigan | 5-0 | - | 13-3 |
| Purdue | 5-1 | 0.5 | 13-4 |
| Oregon | 4-2 | 1.5 | 15-2 |
| Indiana | 4-2 | 1.5 | 13-4 |
| Illinois | 4-2 | 1.5 | 12-4 |
| Wisconsin | 3-2 | 2 | 13-3 |
| Iowa | 3-2 | 2 | 12-4 |
| Maryland | 2-3 | 3 | 12-4 |
| Nebraska | 2-3 | 3 | 12-4 |
| UCLA | 2-3 | 3 | 11-5 |
| Ohio State | 2-3 | 3 | 10-6 |
| USC | 2-3 | 3 | 10-6 |
| Penn State | 2-4 | 3.5 | 12-5 |
| Northwestern | 1-4 | 4 | 10-6 |
| Rutgers | 1-4 | 4 | 8-8 |
| Washington | 1-5 | 4.5 | 10-7 |
| Minnesota | 0-5 | 5 | 8-8 |
