The summer months bring the depths of the college basketball offseason. While the NBA draft is still two weeks away, the recent early-entry decision deadline represented the final college basketball-centric news of the process.
That date mostly finalized each Big Ten team’s roster entering the 2025-26 season. Notably, several All-Conference-caliber players, including Ohio State‘s Bruce Thornton, Michigan‘s Yaxel Lendeborg, Wisconsin’s John Blackwell and Oregon‘s Nate Bittle, opted to return to college. Their decisions significantly affected the conference landscape for the upcoming season, as seen in our latest power rankings.
Related: Re-ranking all 18 Big Ten basketball arenas from worst to first
Now, with several quiet months upcoming, it’s time for a different look at the Big Ten basketball landscape, one that completely ignores the on-court product.
That look: An updated ranking of the conference’s 18 home and away uniform kits.
We recently updated our rankings for the conference’s football helmets and full football uniforms. Now, here is our ranking of its 18 basketball uniforms.
18. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 15
Minnesota’s place at the bottom of this list doesn’t mean it has a bad uniform — it just doesn’t stack up favorably to some of the conference’s best. The yellow colorway is sub-par. The team’s all-maroon and all-white uniforms are far superior.
17. Illinois Fighting Illini
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 6
Illinois’ uniforms don’t match the program’s annual ranking near the top of the conference power rankings. Some of its new uniforms are a step forward compared to the one pictured above, specifically those with cursive lettering. Still, an orange-based uniform doesn’t rank favorably.
16. Oregon Ducks
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 8
Oregon’s jerseys are downgraded for several reasons. First, the skinny lettering is inferior to the fonts used by most others in the conference. Second, its yellow-on-green or green-on-yellow combinations can be tough on the eyes. Those designs do not check the ‘clean and simple’ box.
Get more (Oregon) news, analysis and opinions on Ducks Wire
15. USC Trojans
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 9
USC’s uniforms are simple, which is a good thing. This ranking is not a knock on the design, but more so on the colorway. Red-on-white, purple-on-white, or green-on-white, as seen elsewhere in the conference, work better than gold-on-cardinal.
Get more (USC) news, analysis and opinions on Trojans Wire
14. Washington Huskies
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 16
Washington has strong uniforms. The design is unique, specifically the texturing on the pant legs. I think these uniforms would get much more run if the Huskies were relevant.
Get more (Washington) news, analysis and opinions on Huskies Wire
13. Purdue Boilermakers
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 1
Some of Purdue’s uniforms would rank near the top of this list, while some should be near the bottom. The ones listed above fall into that latter category, while the example below belongs to the former. The spaced-out ‘Purdue’ lettering doesn’t work nearly as well as the underlined name in cursive.
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 14
Nebraska puts a unique touch on the red-and-white colorway. The new look with a cursive Nebraska is a strong addition to the mix. The kits with Nebraska work, though the ones with ‘Huskers do not.
Get more (Nebraska) news, analysis and opinions on Cornhuskers Wire
11. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 17
Rutgers, like Nebraska, adds its own touch to the popular red-and-white colorway. It does so with black bordering throughout the uniform, especially around the numbers. It’s a compliment that the name Rutgers could be deleted and it would still be clear which program was on the court.
11. Northwestern Wildcats
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 13
Northwestern’s uniforms check the necessary boxes. They are simple, consistent and unique. Sometimes, a third color isn’t necessary. The strongest designs require just two: the team’s primary color and white.
10. Penn State Nittany Lions
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 18
Penn State’s uniforms fit our criteria of simple and effective. The team wears two combinations, the pictured blue-on-white at home, then an inverse white-on-blue on the road. No flash or unique design is necessary when the branding is simple and consistent. One note: the new uniform with a Nittany Lion logo in place of the Penn State lettering needs to be scrapped.
Get more (Penn State) news, analysis and opinions on Nittany Lions Wire
8. Iowa Hawkeyes
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 11
Yellow and black is a strong colorway. To Iowa’s credit, it doesn’t try to do too much with it. Bold lettering on the chest and a consistent home-and-road look are both major positives.
Get more (Iowa) news, analysis and opinions on Hawkeyes Wire
7. Wisconsin Badgers
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 4
Wisconsin’s uniforms are the perfect example of simple and effective. The red-and-white bordering gives the uniforms a unique look, as do the shorts’ “Motion W” and horizontal lining. Unlike some other programs in the conference, Wisconsin’s alternates, seen below, are as strong as its normal uniforms.
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 7
Ohio State has the best red-on-white uniforms in the conference. That is due to the uniform’s unique and consistent lettering, plus its gray-and-black accents. Red-on-white at home and white-on-red on the road, with an extra design touch or two, is a great recipe.
Get more (Ohio State) news, analysis and opinions on Buckeyes Wire
5. Michigan Wolverines
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 2
Michigan boasts one of the classiest looks in the conference. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better single uniform than the Wolverines’ blue-and-yellow-on-white (seen above). That colorway works better than the blue-on-yellow (seen below). Overall, the uniform’s design is surpassed by only a few.
Get more (Michigan) news, analysis and opinions on Wolverines Wire
4. Michigan State Spartans
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 5
Sorry to Michigan fans, but rival Michigan State has one of those uniform combinations ranked in the top four. The green-and-white uniforms are elevated by their unique lining and the Spartan logo. This is the one program where Spartans can work instead of the full school name. Home or road, these jerseys are terrific.
Get more (Michigan State) news, analysis and opinions on Spartans Wire
3. Maryland Terrapins
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 10
Maryland has a lot going on with its uniforms. While it utilizes up to four colors in some places, the combinations seem to work. The uniform’s lettering and number bordering are unique and give the kit a clear identity. Its red-on-white home uniform is among the best in the conference.
2. UCLA Bruins
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 3
While two primary colors may not always work well with other programs, UCLA’s uniforms are an absolute classic. It cycles between yellow-on-blue and blue-on-white; both combinations work perfectly. The program deserves credit for not trying a third design with yellow as the base color.
Get more (UCLA) news, analysis and opinions on UCLA Wire
1. Indiana Hoosiers
Team 2025-26 Power Ranking: No. 12
Not much needs to be written about the effectiveness of Indiana’s uniforms. They are the perfect blend of classic, simple and consistent. The program’s road jerseys are an inverse of the home kit, a feature that has been highlighted as a positive in this piece. While the program hasn’t lived up to expectations over the last decade, its on-court look is always second to none.
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