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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Purdue
- Ohio State
- Iowa
- Rutgers
- Wisconsin
- Maryland
- Penn State
- Minnesota
- Northwestern
- Nebraska
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
-Terrance Shannon – G – Illinois
-Trayce Jackson-Davis – F – Indiana
-Kris Murray – F – Iowa
-Hunter Dickinson – C – Michigan
-Jamison Battle – F – Minnesota
-Jalen Pickett – G – Penn State
-Zach Edey – C – Purdue
-Clifford Omoruyi – C – Rutgers
-Chucky Hepburn – G – Wisconsin
-Tyler Wahl – F – Wisconsin
-Malik Hall – F – Michigan State
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Indiana is picked to finish first in the Big Ten, and it seems like it has been a long time since that has happened. They are certainly talented and have a lot of experience with four starters returning. They are also starting off the season ranked #13 in the AP Poll. There is something that gives me a little bit of pause about them, though. They barely made the NCAA Tournament last year. I think they will be better this year, but to go from barely making the NCAAs to 13th and atop the Big Ten would be quite a jump.
-Illinois finished in a tie for first place last year and has high expectations again this year. What they do not have are are any returning starters, so it is kind of hard to forecast how good they will actually end up being. I think they have some good pieces. It is hard not to be impressed with some of the transfers they added…but like a lot of teams in this conference I currently have more questions than answers.
-Michigan also has high expectations but has retained very little from the year before. They won 19 games a year ago and had a nice run to the Sweet Sixteen, but they will have to rely on some new additions to their roster if they are going to repeat that kind of success this year…which could happen. A lot of what they brought in does appear to be impressive.
-Michigan State had a decent year last year where they won 23 games, made the NCAAs, and advanced to the second round, but they just were not the protected-seed-caliber program that we are used to seeing. It is not looking like they are going to be this year either. They are still good, still physical, still tough defensively, and should still make The Dance, but I do not expect them to be quite as good as they have been in the recent past.
-Purdue won 29 games last season, earned a protected seed, made it to the Sweet Sixteen, and appeared to have a pretty manageable path to the Final Four…but then they lost to Saint Peter’s. The Boilers are expected to take a step back this year but I still think this team can be pretty good. They have two really good frontcourt players returning, they have a transfer coming in to play PG, and if he can step into that role I think this team is going to be fine.
-I think Chris Holtmann is a fantastic coach. He has put together successful seasons when preseason expectations were almost non-existent both at Gardner Webb and at Butler, and it would not totally surprise me to see him do it again this year at Ohio State. That being said, the Buckeyes do not appear to be as strong as they usually are. Just one starter returns, but they have gone to the transfer portal and added several guys who were either role players at Power 5-level schools, or stars at Under the Radar schools, so…who knows? Holtmann could surprise us…again.
-Iowa won 26 games last year and made the NCAA Tournament. They lost Keegan Murray to the NBA, and that is a huge player to have to replace, but three starters are back and this is a program that has a history of successfully developing players and having them step into new roles. I think they can exceed expectations this year.
-Rutgers has made a ton of progress as a program since Steve Pikiell took over. After a very long drought, we have now seen them in two straight NCAA Tournaments (and would have seen them in three if not for COVID), and I kind of think people are overlooking them this year. Three starters are back, they have a really solid transfer coming to Piscataway in Cam Spencer, and I think they will once again be in the NCAA mix come March.
-Wisconsin has three starters back from a team that finished in first place a year ago and won 25 total games before losing in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. So…of course they are picked 9th. They did lose their top player, but they have enough coming back and have shown in the past the ability for new guys to step up. I think they finish WAAAAY higher than 9th this year.
After that the league starts to smell kind of bad…
-Maryland was 15-17 overall last year, just 7-13 in the Big Ten, and is not showing too many signs of being all that much better this year. Kevin Willard takes over as head coach, and he is good, but he also has his work cut out for him.
-Some are on the Penn State bandwagon and think they can be a bit of a dark horse. They do have four starters back, and I think they will be better than they were a year ago, but I do not see them making a run at the NCAA Tournament or competing with the top half of the conference.
-Minnesota has totally overhauled their roster. All five starters are gone and it is looking like a rebuilding year.
-Northwestern has four starters back, and I like Chris Collins as a coach, but since he took them to an NCAA Tournament the program has been in a tailspin, and while we saw some improvement last year it was not a lot. Expectations are not all that high again this year.
-Nebraska is just bad. Like…really bad.