The first NCAA March Madness NET Rankings of the year were released Monday, and the Penn State men’s basketball team was ranked No. 83 out of the 365 Division 1 basketball schools in the nation.
The NET Rankings are used by the NCAA Selection Committee and are updated daily. Considering that 68 teams make the March Madness tournament, this is encouraging news for the Blue & White as they open up Big Ten play against No. 22 ranked Indiana on Tuesday, December 9 in Bloomington.
Here is where the other Big Ten schools were ranked in the NET Rankings first release of the year:
Michigan – #1
Purdue – #3
Michigan State – #10
Indiana – #11
Iowa – #16
USC – #20
Illinois – #24
Nebraska – #28
Northwestern – #48
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Ohio State – #63
Wisconsin – #69
Washington – #74
UCLA – #76
Minnesota – #144
Rutgers – #186
Oregon – #192
Maryland – #200
In another ranking called the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings or Kenpom, the 365 schools are ranked by a series of predictive ratings. The 2026 Kenpom had the Nittany Lions ranked No. 99.
While these two rankings give a rough snapshot on this young season’s college basketball landscape, they at least show how loaded and talented the Big Ten Conference seems to be this year. Penn State, without a doubt, will have their hands full, as they have the youngest roster in the Big Ten and one of the youngest rosters in the country.
Stay tuned to Nittany Sports Now for all of your Penn State men’s basketball coverage.
