ROSEMONT, Ill. 鈥 The Big Ten may not have a national championship team amid its members this season.
Or so we think.
Who had Michigan playing for the national title at this time a year ago?
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What the Big Ten does have is a league with no bad teams, thanks to the general strength of the conference. The Big Ten will play 20 conference games for the first time, offering up better matchups for teams on the bubble. And the player of the year candidates are plentiful 鈥 led by Purdue鈥檚 Carsen Edwards. So, after canvassing the league at media day Thursday, here are my revised conference power rankings:
1. Michigan State: Tom Izzo has a Big Ten title squad. He鈥檚 got his floor leader in Cassius Winston, who could go down as one of his favorites 鈥 and that鈥檚 saying something for that position at Michigan State. Nick Ward is all on board with what Izzo wants him to be this season. The depth is there and the Spartans are primed to make another deep tournament run after the stunning loss to Syracuse in the second round.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看
Another 鈽濓笍
鈥 Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball)
Preseason All-B1G for , making us one of only two schools to have multiple players named to the Preseason All-B1G team 馃憖
2. Nebraska: The Huskers have their best team under Tim Miles. The Huskers aren鈥檛 deep but may have the best starting five in the league. This is a veteran group with each one of the seniors ready to meet the expectations. Tim Miles is in a great mood here going into the season because he knows he鈥檚 got a squad.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看
3. Purdue: Carsen Edwards says all the right things. He鈥檚 not thinking about being the national player of the year. And he shouldn鈥檛. But he is well aware that if he can become that level of player then the Boilermakers will be a national player and a Big Ten contender. Edwards has grown into the starring role. He just carries himself like someone who is ready to embrace the spotlight.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看
Here with possibly the player of the year: Carsen Edwards @marchmadness:
鈥 Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz)
4. Indiana: The Hoosiers may have two player of the year contenders in Juwan Morgan and Romeo Langford. If the Hoosiers are on board with Archie Miller鈥檚 defensive philosophy early and often, then Indiana will be a top-four team in the Big Ten.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看
5. Michigan: Charles Matthews doesn鈥檛 think for one second the Wolverines will fade away. The Wolverines may have a few hiccups early but there鈥檚 no reason to believe they won鈥檛 be a tough out. And he was clear that the newcomers are going to have a major impact.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看
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6. Wisconsin: Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said the Badgers are back to being healthy, and if that鈥檚 the case then this team will be playing deeper into March again. Ethan Happ has a chance to be one of the most prolific scorers/rebounders in Wisconsin and Big Ten history. Brad Davison is healthy after shoulder surgery, D鈥檓itrik Trice has put on weight, Kobe King is back to killing it in practice and Brevin Pritzl is knocking down shots and Nate Reuvers is no longer a sleeper.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看
It's unanimous! 's has been named to the preseason All-B1G team.
鈥 Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN)
7. Minnesota: The Gophers are the sleeper pick to challenge for the title 鈥 yes, even from being projected in the middle. Jordan Murphy is almost like the forgotten man 鈥 a double-double machine. Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said Eric Curry, Amir Coffey and Dupree McBrayer will all be good to go. If Pitt transfer Marcus Carr is eligible then the Gophers will have the needed depth at every position.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看
| 草莓网站在线看 MARCH MADNESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA |
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8. Maryland: The Terps did lose Kevin Huerter and Justin Jackson, but the return of Anthony Cowan Jr., and Bruno Fernando has Mark Turgeon feeling pretty, pretty, pretty good about this squad. The Terps could be sneaky good early and suddenly be a team of relevance deep into the Big Ten.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看 bubble.
9. Iowa: The Hawkeyes should be back in the mix with the top nine back, led by Tyler Cook. If the Hawkeyes can improve defensively 鈥 Fran McCaffery is confident this team will have a major overhaul of the defensive thinking 鈥 then Iowa will help the Big Ten have a banner Selection Sunday.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看 bubble.
Iowa Players at B1G Media Day
鈥 Iowa Men鈥檚 Basketball (@IowaHoops)
10. Penn State: The Nittany Lions lost a lot with Tony Carr and Shep Garner gone. But Lamar Stevens is a beast and if the newcomers come through, then Penn State could be a late bloomer. There鈥檚 still a strong possibility of a good bump off the NIT title.
Postseason prediction: 草莓网站在线看 bubble.
11. Northwestern: Chris Collins is pretty pumped about this crew with the return of Vic Law and the ability of Evansville transfer Ryan Taylor to get buckets for the Wildcats. Collins is also extremely high on Boston College transfer A.J. Turner. If these pieces all mesh, then the Wildcats will find themselves back in contention for a postseason berth.
Postseason prediction: NIT consideration.
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12. Ohio State: The Buckeyes are major unknown, maybe the toughest team to slot in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes were better than expected a season ago. This could be the bridge season. Wake Forest transfer Keyshawn Woods may end up helping Ohio State finish higher. But recruiting is going so well that the expectation is the Buckeyes will be back near the top soon.
Postseason prediction: None.
馃栈 , & Andre Wesson preview the upcoming season on .
鈥 Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops)
13. Illinois: The Illini could very likely finish much higher if Trent Frazier becomes a first-team All-Big Ten player, which he is more than capable of doing this season. Brad Underwood has established his criteria and he鈥檚 got buy in so far. Still, it鈥檚 hard for the Illini to be projected higher at this juncture.
Postseason prediction: None.
14. Rutgers: Steve Pikiell said this team is much improved and may increase its win total. But that may make it hard to move up in the standings. Don鈥檛 be discouraged by the placement in the standings. Rutgers may finish last but won鈥檛 be a given for any team at the RAC.
Postseason prediction: None.
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