As the calendar approaches February, FOX college basketball analyst Mike DeCourcy released his latest Bracket Forecast for the NCAA Tournament. Nine Big Ten teams are in the mix.

A transformative week made it clear who are the contenders, which programs will be scary in March and who is trending down.

Michigan State senior defenseman David Gucciardi was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week for his performance against the Minnesota Golden Gophers last wee

The Badgers have shot 48% and hit 32 three-pointers in the last two games, marksmanship that has helped the team start Big Ten play 6-3.

Several universities in the Big Ten Conference ran large deficits in their intercollegiate athletics programs during FY 2024. That problem will only grow worse.

The Iowa basketball team is 13-8 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten Conference entering the home game vs. Purdue on Feb. 4. The Hawkeyes are coming off another disappointing performance, losing 82-65 at Ohio State on Monday. Head coach Fran McCaffery's group has lost four of its last five games.

Here's an updated look at where Big Ten basketball teams sit in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches poll and AP Top 25 rankings:

MSU is now 9-0 in Big Ten play and sit atop of the conference with Purdue being the closest behind them at 8-2. Michigan State will look to continue their winning ways on the west coast. MSU will play at USC on Saturday and at UCLA on Tuesday.

The UCLA Bruins are in their first season in the Big Ten Conference. With that expansion of the conference, coaches like Mick Cronin are dealing with some new challenges, including handling the travel and a difficult conference schedule.

Here are where things stand in the USA TODAY Sports Network's Big Ten women's basketball power rankings entering the final week of January.

Below is a closer look at a ranking of the toughest Big Ten football schedules in 2025 based on the 2024 win percentage of the opponents: 2025 opponents: New Mexico, at Oklahoma, Central Michigan, at Nebraska, Wisconsin, at USC, Washington, at Michigan State, Purdue, at Northwestern, at Maryland, Ohio State

The bottom three of the 18 teams won’t advance to Indianapolis for the league tourney, and the Hawkeyes have work to do to be one of the 15 that do