Alex Bozich 05/02/2016 11:28 am in Commentary

And now, here are the results, by category:

Regular season Big Ten wins over the past five seasons (Note: For Maryland, 11-12, 12-13 and 13-14 uses ACC and for Rutgers, 11-12 and 12-13 uses Big East and 13-14 uses the American Conference)

Wisconsin and Michigan State are the class of the league here as both teams have won at least 12 league games in each of the past five seasons. Wisconsin’s incredible 2014-2015 season gave the Badgers the slight edge and the top spot in the rankings.

The next tier here is Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana. Ohio State is the only other Big Ten team besides Wisconsin and Michigan State to win double figure league games in each of the last five seasons. Michigan and Indiana both had down seasons in the time frame that knocked them down a bit.

The third tier is clearly Iowa, Maryland and Purdue. All three trended up in recent seasons.

NCAA tournament wins over the past five seasons (Note: Wins in the First Four games in Dayton are included)

Each of the top four here have been to a Final Four in the past five seasons.

Wisconsin has been to two, including a national championship game in 2015 and also four Sweet Sixteens in the span. However, Michigan State’s upset loss against Middle Tennessee State likely cost the Spartans the top spot here.

Here’s a scary thought: Ohio State has combined for as many NCAA tournament wins as the bottom nine teams over the past five seasons. The top three have each combined for more than the bottom nine. There’s a pretty clear separation in the Big Ten right now among the top five and the rest of the pack in terms of success in the tournament.

Final KenPom ranking over the past five seasons

Sparty reigns supreme in the KenPom rankings and this past season was the difference as Wisconsin fell back considerably from where it was the previous four seasons. That said, I’m sure the Badgers will take the two NCAA tournament wins over Michigan State’s tournament debacle.

Indiana stands fairly strong here as the clear fourth best in the league. But with two down years (13-14, 14-15) that really hurt its overall number.

Penn State and Rutgers are the bottom two for a third straight category.

Recruiting class rankings over the past five signing classes (Note: Numbers used for 2016 are as of Monday, May 2)

If you need proof that recruiting rankings aren’t everything look at the bottom. The Badgers do more with less than any team in the conference. The highest 247Composite class ranking for Wisconsin over the span is 39 in 2013. (Side note: The Wisconsin classed ranked 120 in the 247Composite had one player: Ethan Happ.)

Indiana, Maryland and Michigan State have recruited the best over the span with Ohio State just a bit behind because of a 2012 class that included just one player.

Recent recruiting successes by Minnesota and Penn State suggests both teams may be able to climb up the league pecking order in the coming seasons.

Players drafted by the NBA over the last five NBA drafts (Note: Only looks at guys who were drafted, not who actually played in the NBA)

Michigan sets the pace here thanks to a run in 2012 and 2013 that included Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson III and Nik Stauskas all having their names called on draft night. Both Burke and Stauskas were lottery picks.

All of Indiana’s picks in this span were in the lottery.

Michigan State has also turned out a solid stable in this span with Draymond Green as the most notable NBA player it has churned out. Maryland, of course, should start trending up here with Jake Layman, Diamond Stone and Robert Carter all in this year’s draft and potentially Melo Trimble as well.

Final rankings (Note: weighted ranking of each category combined as described in the intro)

As you’d expect, Michigan State and Wisconsin have been the class of the league over the last five seasons. Ohio State and Michigan were neck-and-neck with Indiana as the clear No. 5.

There was then a significant dropoff down to the next tier with Maryland and Iowa and another big drop down to Purdue.

The bottom six were as you’d expect with Illinois struggling to keep up with the rest of the league and the other five programs trying to build towards the top half, but with a long way to go.

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