Big Ten Basketball Shines Bright in Strong Weekend Wins

The Big Ten conference has started the college basketball season with a bang, ending the weekend with five of its teams in the top 25 of the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 rankings. The excitement kicked off on Friday night with Purdue pulling off a surprising 87-78 win over Alabama, who was ranked second nationally. Wisconsin also made waves, beating ninth-ranked Arizona 103-88. This bold showing has the conference making a strong case for itself as one of the best in the country. Beyond the weekend's highlights, the Big Ten has collectively done well in out-of-conference games. Of the top 10 teams in the Associated Press poll, six played games, and four emerged victorious. This included the Big Ten's impressive wins over Alabama and Arizona. In total, the Big Ten went 5-3 against other power conferences, demonstrating their strength and depth. The updated CBS Sports rankings now feature Purdue at No. 8, Indiana at No. 14, Wisconsin at No. 17, Ohio State at No. 20, and Rutgers at No. 24. Kansas remains the top-ranked team. Upcoming games will offer more opportunities to measure the Big Ten's success, with Purdue facing Marquette on Tuesday and Illinois against Alabama on Wednesday.