With Sunday's selection just two weeks away, a major national poll is weighing in on metrics like the NCAA's NET rankings and who will earn the coveted 68 spots in the NCAA Tournament when discussing the sport. It has largely been replaced.
Still, polls play a huge role in shaping the conversation around sports and how individual programs and conferences are evaluated.
The Big Ten by USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 continues to be a league lacking in traditional depth.
Last week, only two teams from the conference were ranked: No. 3 Purdue and No. 16 Illinois.
Must read:Tom Izzo hopes he learned one thing from Michigan State basketball's narrow loss to No. 3 Purdue.
The Boilermakers (26-3, 15-3 Big Ten) held off Michigan State 80-74 in their only game last week, led by National Player of the Year Zach Eady's 32 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. He won with his efforts. Purdue has won 12 of its past 13 games. The Cougars and Huskies are a combined 3-0 since last week, when they lost 36 points to No. 1 Houston and one point to No. 2 UW in the coaches poll.
The Fighting Illini (22-7, 13-5) won both games and scored a combined 196 points against Minnesota and Wisconsin. The three teams outside of the top 25 that received poll votes — Wisconsin, Northwestern and Nebraska — each have at least one loss and are unlikely to advance to the top 25.
Here are the Big Ten teams' rankings in the latest coaches poll and AP Top 25.
College basketball rankings for March 4th
USA TODAY Sports Coach Poll
This section will be updated once the poll is released on Monday afternoon
Must read:Michigan State basketball strength and conditioning coach John Sanderson resigns
AP top 25
This section will be updated once the poll is released on Monday afternoon
