BIG TEN MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Illinois
- Michigan State
- Michigan
- UCLA
- Nebraska
- Purdue
- USC
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Wisconsin
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Oregon
- Washington
- Northwestern
- Rutgers
- Penn State
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN 1ST TEAM:
-Jeremy Fears Jr. – Michigan State
-Pryce Sandfort – Nebraska
-David Mirkovic – Illinois
-Elliot Cadeau – Michigan
-Trey McKenney – Michigan
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN 2ND TEAM:
-Nolan Winter – Wisconsin
-John Mobley Jr. – Ohio State
-Rodney Rice – USC
-Andrej Stojakovic – Illinois
-Aiden Sherrell – Indiana
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Illinois is good. They made the Final Four last year after a 28-win season and are good enough to get back there again this year. Losing Keaton Wagler is no small thing, but with Stefan Vaaks coming in from Providence and joining Quentin Coleman (who looks to be a super-frosh), the Illini will have a monster backcourt. David Mirkovic also returns, and he and Tomislav Ivisic make up a monster frontcourt. Illinois is not my pick to win it all, but I definitely think they are in that discussion. I think they can make it back to the Final Four this year: they are that good.
-Michigan State is another team that is once again stacked with talent and who could contend for the Big Ten title and go deep into March. Jeremy Fears Jr. returns at PG, who was a scoring and assist machine last year. Anton Bonke is another player to watch as he is 7’2″ and has great range for a big man. I do not like them quite as much as Illinois, but we should see them ranked in the top-ten for much (if not all) of the season.
-Michigan was last year’s national champion after going an amazing 37-3 and kind of blowing through the Final Four. The problem is that Coach Dusty May is gone, as are four of their starters. Still, a program like Michigan is never going to be short on talent, and Elliot Cadeau is back at PG. He and Trey McKenney will make up a very solid backcourt. JP Estrella and Moustapha Thiam will make up a very strong and experienced frontcourt, so the cupboard is by no means empty for the defending national champs.
-I think I say this every year, but I really like this UCLA team. They won 24 games a year ago and are always tough defensively, and with three key starters back I think they are set up to be a huge headache for a lot of teams in the Big Ten. Trent Perry and Eric Dailey Jr. make up a strong backcourt and both were double-digit scorers a year ago. Xavier Booker is a big guy with great range, and with the addition of Jaylen Petty from Texas Tech, the Bruins have some great pieces that fit the style of play that Coach Mick Cronin wants to run.
-Nebraska was one of the great storylines in all of college basketball last year. Their 28-win season where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen (and nearly went further) was the best in school history. Coach Fred Hoiberg has to replace four starters, but Pryce Sandfort is back and will once again be a huge part of this year’s team. They also have some key reserves coming back in Braden Frager who averaged double-figures last year, and Sam Orme, who was a key player for a very good Belmont team a year ago. The Huskers will likely be dancing again this year, and will likely once again be set up to get beyond the Round of 64.
-Purdue won 30 games last year and made it to the Elite Eight. This year they are not expected to be quite as good, but they will still be quite good. CJ Cox is the only returning starter, but Caden Pierce joins the team, who was Ivy League Player of the Year at Princeton in 2024 and some other guys who contributed off the bench. Purdue will almost assuredly still be a solid NCAA Tournament-caliber team, but they may not be a Final Four contender like they have been in recent years.
-USC has not cracked the 20-win mark for the last three years and missed the NCAA Tournament again last year. While they did lose some key players, both Rodney Rice and Alijah Arenas are back, so they will have a very solid backcourt. Jacob Cofie also transfers in from Virginia, and is one of seven players the Trojans got from the portal, so they have reloaded their roster and appear to have a fair amount of depth. We could see the Trojans take a big step forward this year.
-Ohio State finished in 8th place last year, which was good enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament. They are picked to finish in the middle of the league yet again, and that should be good enough to get them back to the (now expanded) NCAA Tournament. Bruce Thornton is gone along with two other starters, so the Buckeyes will have to reload, but with John Mobley Jr. back at PG and Justin Pippen at the #2, the Buckeyes should once again have a very strong and talented backcourt. They should have a formidable frontcourt as well along with a fair amount of depth.
-Indiana missed the NCAA Tournament a year ago, but would have probably made it had there been a 76-team field. Only one starter returns, but like a lot of teams they have added some key transfers. Aiden Sherrell, who has both size and range, comes in from Alabama and should provide a big spark for the Hoosiers this year. Samet Yigitoglu put up impressive numbers for SMU a year ago. The Hoosiers are definitely not empty-handed.
-Iowa had a rather unspectacular regular season that had a rather spectacular ending in March. Late in the season they went through a stretch where they lost five out of seven games and appeared to be going in the wrong direction, but in the NCAA Tournament they advanced to the Elite Eight before Illinois finally knocked them off. Three starters return for the Hawkeyes, so I am a little surprised they are not getting a little more preseason love. They do not have any superstar players, but they should be really balanced.
-Wisconsin is coming off another solid year where they were 14-6 in conference and made it to the NCAA Tournament, but they appear to be in rebuild mode this year. I always end up liking Wisconsin more than the consensus does, but even I can see how they may be in a bit of a reset mode this year. Just one starter is back in Nolan Winter, and while he can score and rebound he is going to need some help. Eian Elmer was a standout player for Miami OH last year, and Trey Autry put up solid numbers at George Washington, so they are able to somewhat reload, and they are always a hard team to play against, but they may not be quite as tough as what we have seen in the past.
-Maryland had a rough year last year, winning just 12 total games, and the expectations are not much better for this year. Having said that, Coach Buzz Williams has shown that he knows how to grow a program. Just one starter is back, but that could also mean that the roster is being built more to the way that it will fit Buzz’s style. DJ Wagner comes in from Arkansas, Bishop Boswell come in from Tennessee, and Andre Mills returns to the starting lineup. None of these players put up incredible numbers, but they were recruited to fit a system. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Maryland is much better this year than many are forecasting.
-Minnesota just was not good last year, but they did start to pick it up down the stretch by winning four of their final six regular season games, which accounted for half of their conference wins. Three starters are back and that experience should help them. I do not think Minny will challenge for the league title, but I do not think they will be the doormat either.
-Oregon had a rough season last year that saw them finish 15th in the league, and things are not looking all that much better this year. Just one starter is back, and Coach Dana Altman (who has announced his retirement since this was 1st posted) is tasked with a complete rebuild. Fred Payne transfers in from Boston College, which should give them some strength in the backcourt and Andrew Meadow put up solid numbers at Boise State, so the Ducks do have a few pieces and could take a bit of a step forward.
-Coach Danny Sprinkle’s Washington team stumbled through much of the year and are tasked with a roster rebuild this year. Wesley Yates III is back and LeJuan Watts is coming in from Texas Tech, but other than those two there are not many guys that have played major roles before, so some of them will have to step up if the Huskies are going to be competitors.
-It is so much fun when Northwestern is good. It is just that more often than not, they are not good and the media is not expecting them to be good this year…but can the Wildcats surprise some people? They have some guys who were really good at Under the Radar schools transferring in. LA Pratt put up huge numbers at Northeastern and he comes in as a grad transfer, Jack Karasinski scored more than 21ppg game at Bellarmine last year, and Colin Smith was a solid player for UC Santa Barbara. I am also a fan of Coach Chris Collins and I think Northwestern could be a bit of a dark horse this year.
-Rutgers is another team that is not getting any love, but who I think could turn out to be better than expected. Three starters are back from last year’s team, including Tariq Francis, and Darin Smith is transferring in. Both of those guys put up huge numbers at Under the Radar schools and may be better players than what most of those who follow the Big Ten realize.
-Penn State came in dead-last a season ago and is expected to repeat as dead-last again this season. They do have some players returning who had decent seasons a year ago and maybe that experience could help them improve this year. Maybe?? Probably not, but…maybe??
