Which school is the ULTIMATE basketball school?
There are plenty of Big Ten teams that are powers on the court, and the names I could list would probably bore you: Michigan, Purdue, Michigan State, Illinois… yawn. All of these teams are doing well so far this year, were expected to do well this year, and likely will continue to do well this year. True, there have been a few wrinkles, like Nebrasketball’s emergence as an apparently legitimate team, one that is STILL sporting the nation’s longest active win streak, nearly a month after we thought that fun little anecdote would probably expire.
But what if we look at the title “Basketball School” another way? Are any of these powers ALSO killing it in women’s hoops? How many Big Ten teams are getting things done with both the men’s and the women’s teams?
It turns out, more Big Ten teams are sporting simultaneously successful programs than you might guess! So who is the ultimate basketball school by this metric? Read on and find out!
Methodology Note: I used the AP rankings for both the men’s and the women’s teams. Game records and rankings are current as of Dec. 21st, so may not reflect games played in recent days
Michigan
Much has been made of the male Wolverines’ hot start and high hopes for the season. Comfortably ensconced at #2 in the nation, Michigan is 11-0 and putting up some eye-popping scores. Six of the Wolverine’s last eleven games have seen them in triple digits, no doubt putting the fear of God into defensive schemers throughout the conference.
But perhaps lost in the ballyhoo over the men’s team is the fact that the women’s Wolverine hoopsters are also kicking ass, and are currently ranked #6 in the country. Though they have a blemish on their 10-1 record, that loss came by three points to #1 UConn, so it was hardly a travesty. The women’s team has some serious firepower too – four of their games featured them hitting triple digits, with their additional six wins all seeing them score north of 80. Many of their opponents, as with the men’s teams, are a bit overmatched— but they did rout #18 Notre Dame 93-54, so they probably are for real.
Michigan State
Ok, so apparently Michigan is just a basketball state. As always, expectations are sky high for Tom Izzo’s men’s side, and so far, so good. The Spartans are ranked #9 in the country, their lone loss so far coming by six points to #4 Duke. Provided they get past Cornell today (lol – Go Big Red!), they face a second Big Red on Friday, and that game is looking a bit more interesting than anyone thought it would pre-season.
Just sneaking into the rankings at #24, the women’s team* has put together a solid season, though admittedly against overmatched opponents. Their lone loss came earlier this month against unranked Wisconsin, and was a fairly emphatic 14-point defeat. Still, they also defeated #15 Ole Miss and they’ve shown themselves capable of putting up the points – all but five of their games this year have seen them score at least 90 points, though that number has come a bit closer to earth as the competition has picked up.
*Were they ever the “Spartanettes”? Good lord, I’m sure they were.
Nebraska
I mean, when you think “basketball school,” you definitely think… Nebraska? This year, it seems, yes. The historically futile men’s team is off to a scorching hot start, defying some insulting pre-season picks that placed them 14 out of 18 in the Big Ten. Instead, they consolidated last year’s victory in the Crown Tournament into the nation’s longest active winning streak – at 12-0, they still haven’t lost this season. Against the usual cupcakes, that’s not so surprising, but they’ve also spanked historic foes Creighton (by 21 points) and Wisconsin (by a delightful 30 points). Sure, both of those teams appear to be struggling this year… but they also took out #13 Illinois in an absolute thriller in Champaign. Questions will continue to be asked of the Huskers, because when you’re Nebrasketball, you’re never going to get the benefit of the doubt— but so far, they’ve kept the answers pretty clear on the court and are currently experiencing the great heights of being ranked #13 in the country.
The women’s program has enjoyed more success than the men’s, especially under head coach Amy Williams, and they are ALSO undefeated and ranked #20. That’s right – Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball is a combined 24-0. I’m getting that out there now, because the women have a tough one this afternoon against #17 USC, and I’m not sure how much longer this amazing stat will be current. Still, the Huskers have scored 80 or more points in every game this season – if they can manage that against the battle-tested Trojans, this is certainly a team to pay attention to.
USC
Speaking of the Trojans, they’ve also earned a place on this list: the men’s team sits just inside the top 25 at #24, and the women are at #17. The men’s team is currently enjoying a very long break after trouncing last-minute replacement game opponents UC-Santa Cruz 102-63 (their previously scheduled opponent, Brown, canceled their game in the wake of the tragic campus shooting). Hopefully they’re resting up, because they’re starting 2026 in brutal fashion: 1/2 at #2 Michigan, and 1/5 at #9 Michigan State. It’s probably hard enough for a bunch of southern California boys to have to go to Michigan in January, but that’s a pretty tough road trip on the court as well.
On the subject of tough roads, the women’s team apparently missed memos about cupcake season – five of their twelve games so far have been against ranked opponents (with another – Nebraska) on the docket for today. In spite of this, they’ve emerged with a 9-3 record, with victories against #9 NC State and #21 Washington. Their three losses have come against #1, #2, and #24 (that last one is Notre Dame, so that one is actually pretty inexcusable.)
Iowa
Sneaking into the rankings at #25, the men’s team has had a solid but unspectacular first couple of months of play. They are 10-2, but have lost both of their games against ranked opponents (#7 MSU and #4 Iowa State). Apparently, wins against SE Missouri State and Chicago State are doing heavy lifting here. Maybe no one is watching Iowa anymore since the entertaining promise of Mt. Fran erupting on the sidelines is no longer a possibility. 🙁
At #14, Iowa women’s hoops is setting itself up for a run at the post-season again. With only two losses, and those to #1 UConn (apparently, UConn has played the entire Big Ten in OOC) and #10 Iowa State, Iowa has notched a ranked win over #7 Baylor, and has a big game on Thursday – taking on #20 Nebraska in Lincoln.
Bubble Schools
These teams don’t currently have both teams ranked, but one or both are close:
UCLA: men’s team – receiving votes, women’s team #4(!)
Illinois: men’s team – #20, women’s team – receiving votes
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So who is the ultimate basketball school? By my reckoning, it’s Michigan. I know, boo hiss. But it seems that in the Big Ten, there are quite a few schools who have made a success of ALL the hoopsters, which is really cool to see.
Category: General Sports
