College basketball rankings: Michigan firmly ahead in Big Ten — but Tuesday could make race interesting
Tuesday’s matchups in Big Ten play could provide some drama in the league race as the action heats up in February
By
Gary Parrish
Feb 16, 2026
at
10:15 am ET
•
1 min read
CBS Sports Graphic
Michigan remains No. 1 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings for the seventh consecutive day, and the Wolverines are currently projected in computers to win the Big Ten regular-season championships by multiple games.
That’s likely how things will unfold.
But Tuesday will be a big and busy night in the conference — and, if things go a certain way, we could wake up Wednesday with the top six teams in the Big Ten all within two games of each other. Here’s what would need to take place for that to happen: If Purdue beats Michigan on Tuesday, and if Michigan State beats UCLA, and if Wisconsin beats Ohio State, and if Nebraska beats Iowa, then the top six teams in the Big Ten would be within two games of each other in the loss column of the conference standings on Wednesday morning.
To be clear, each of those games going that way isn’t a likely scenario — but they are all reasonable outcomes. According to KenPom.com, Purdue is only projected as a 2-point underdog to Michigan, Michigan State is projected as a 9-point favorite against UCLA, Wisconsin is only projected as a 1-point underdog at Ohio State and Nebraska is projected as a 1-point favorite at Iowa. Point being — there’s nothing crazy about Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Nebraska winning those games Tuesday.
If they do, the Big Ten standings will look like this:
1. Michigan: 14-2
T-2. Illinois: 12-3
T-2. Purdue: 12-3
T-2. Nebraska: 12-3
T-5. Michigan State: 11-4
T-5. Wisconsin: 11-4
All six of those teams are in Monday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Michigan is No. 1. Purdue is No. 7. Nebraska is No. 8. Illinois is No. 10. Michigan State is No. 15. And Wisconsin is No. 26.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk
Teams
Chg
Rcrd
1
Michigan
Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s 86-56 win over UCLA. The Wolverines’ next game is Tuesday at Purdue.
—
24-1
2
UConn
Solo Ball finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 79-75 win over Georgetown. The Huskies next game is Wednesday against Creighton.
—
24-2
3
Duke
Cameron Boozer finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s 67-54 win over Clemson. The Blue Devils next game is Monday against Syracuse.
—
23-2
4
Arizona
Jaden Bradley missed 10 of the 14 shots he attempted in Saturday’s 78-75 overtime loss to Texas Tech. The Wildcats’ next game is Wednesday against BYU.
—
23-2
5
Houston
Emanuel Sharp finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 78-64 win over Kansas State. The Cougars’ next game is Monday at Iowa State.
—
23-2
6
Iowa St.
Milan Momcilovic finished with 18 points and three rebounds in Saturday’s 74-56 win over Kansas. The Cyclones’ next game is Monday against Houston.
—
22-3
7
Purdue
C.J. Cox finished with 14 points and two rebounds in Saturday’s 78-57 win at Iowa. The Boilermakers’ next game is Tuesday against Michigan.
—
21-4
8
Nebraska
Pryce Sandfort finished with 29 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 68-49 win over Northwestern. The Cornhuskers’ next game is Tuesday at Iowa.
—
22-3
9
Kansas
Darryn Peterson missed seven of the 10 shots he attempted in Saturday’s 74-56 loss at Iowa State. The Jayhawks’ next game is Wednesday at Oklahoma State.
—
19-6
10
Illinois
David Mirkovic finished with 25 points and seven rebounds in Sunday’s 71-51 win over Indiana. The Illini’s next game is Wednesday at USC.
—
21-5
11
Gonzaga
Graham Ike finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday’s 94-86 win at Santa Clara. The Zags’ next game is Wednesday at San Francisco.
—
25-2
12
Florida
Xaivian Lee finished with 22 points and three assists in Saturday’s 92-83 win over Kentucky. The Gators’ next game is Tuesday against South Carolina.
—
19-6
13
Virginia
Malik Thomas finished with 13 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 70-66 win over Ohio State. The Cavaliers’ next game is Wednesday at Georgia Tech.
—
22-3
14
Vanderbilt
Tyler Nickel finished with 25 points and three rebounds in Saturday’s 82-69 win over Texas A&M. The Commodores’ next game is Wednesday at Missouri.
—
21-4
15
Michigan St.
Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 26 points and 15 assists in Saturday’s 85-82 overtime win over Illinois. The Spartans’ next game is Friday at Wisconsin.
—
20-5
16
Texas Tech
JT Toppin finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday’s 78-75 overtime win at Arizona. The Red Raiders’ next game is Tuesday at Arizona State.
—
19-6
17
St. John’s
Dylan Darling finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s 79-69 win at Providence. The Red Storm’s next game is Wednesday at Marquette.
—
20-5
18
Arkansas
Darius Acuff finished with 31 points and seven assists in Saturday’s 88-75 win over Auburn. The Razorbacks’ next game is Wednesday at Alabama.
—
19-6
19
Saint Louis
Trey Green finished with 14 points and six rebounds in Friday’s 86-59 win at Loyola Chicago. The Billikens’ next game is Tuesday at Rhode Island.
—
24-1
20
N. Carolina
Seth Trimble finished with 19 points and three rebounds in Saturday’s 79-65 win over Pitt. The Tar Heels’ next game is Tuesday at NC State.
—
20-5
21
Louisville
Mikel Brown Jr. finished with 29 points and six assists in Saturday’s 82-71 win over Baylor. The Cardinals’ next game is Tuesday at SMU.
—
19-6
22
Clemson
Jestin Porter missed six of the eight shots he attempted in Saturday’s 67-54 loss at Duke. The Tigers’ next game is Wednesday at Wake Forest.
—
20-6
23
Miami (Ohio)
Brant Byers finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Friday’s 90-74 win over Ohio. The RedHawks’ next game is Tuesday at UMass.
—
25-0
24
BYU
Robert Wright III finished with 39 points and four assists in Saturday’s 90-86 overtime win over Colorado. The Cougars’ next game is Wednesday at Arizona.
—
19-6
25
Alabama
Aden Holloway finished with 20 points and four rebounds in Saturday’s 89-75 win over South Carolina. The Crimson Tide’s next game is Wednesday against Arkansas.
—
18-7
26
Wisconsin
Nick Boyd finished with 29 points and four assists in Friday’s 92-71 win over Michigan State. The Badgers’ next game is Tuesday at Ohio State.
