The Big Ten Christmas break has arrived with four days of no games on the schedule. And even the games that have been played or will be played this weekend don’t amount to many headlines. That’s why the performance from Maryland, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, and Wisconsin were such letdowns. All four schools scheduled a power-conference team before its holiday break and lost by a combined 18 points in regulation or in overtime. It was a golden opportunity for each school to add a Quad-1 nonconference win to their profiles, something none of them have and won’t be able to get anymore this season. Coal in the stocking indeed. A Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to our readers. Here is week eight of the Big Ten Power Rankings.
1, Michigan Wolverines (11-0, 2-0) Previous: 1
The Wolverines have won eight straight contests by double-digits, scoring 100 in five of the last six games, and winning by an average of 29.3 points per game against an early-season schedule that has included eight power-conference schools. The Wolverines have scored 50 points or more in 10 of 22 halves this season, including seven of the last 12.The Wolverines have one final nonconference game left, and it has a chance to be a decent one against 10-2 McNeese, who statistically match up fairly evenly on paper albeit against much different schedules.Up Next: Monday vs. McNeese
11-0 pic.twitter.com/wvK7zmg29Q
— Michigan Men’s Basketball (@umichbball) December 21, 2025
2, Michigan State Spartans (11-1, 2-0) Previous: 2
Junior forward Coen Carr scored a career-high 22 points, including 16 in the second half, in a 79-70 win over Oakland. Carr his 8-of-13 shots from the floor and 5-of-7 from the free throw line, while grabbing seven rebounds, adding two assists and two blocked shots.Senior forward Jaxon Kohler had seventh double-double of the season, and third-straight, with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, senior center Carson Cooper added 15 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots and sophomore guard Kur Teng added 10 points and five assists.Oakland was just the second team to shoot above 40 percent against the Spartans, but MSU’s tenacity on the glass (+16 edge in rebounds) was a big difference.Up Next: Monday vs. Cornell
Tom Izzo and Greg Kampe’s ugly Christmas sweaters tradition lives on 🎄 pic.twitter.com/qCuC9HNHKt
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 20, 2025
3, Purdue Boilermakers (11-1, 2-0) Previous: 3
Purdue has responded from its 25-point home loss to Iowa State with three straight 20+ point wins, knocking off Minnesota, Marquette and lastly No.21 AuburnTrey Kaufman-Renn had 18 points and six rebounds, Braden Smith added 11 points and a season-high 14 assists, and C.J. Cox scored 14 in a 28-point win over the 21st-ranked Tigers, which shot only 36.2 percent from the field and finished with its lowest point total this season.Up Next: Monday vs. Kent State…