CBB Review previews Big Ten basketball heading into the 2024-25 season.
Big Ten basketball had a rough showing overall in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, having just two representatives in the Sweet 16. Out of these two teams, Illinois was taken down by UConn in the Elite 8, and Purdue fell to the Huskies in the championship matchup. With so much turnover due to the transfer portal, the vast majority of teams in the Big 10 have reason to think they can battle their way into The Big Dance come March.
Purdue continues to be the frontrunner in an expanded Big 10 conference, despite losing Zach Edey. Former Pac-12 entrants UCLA and Oregon are positioned well entering the 2024-25 season.
Entering the season, the Big Ten is represented in the AP Top 25 poll with just four teams: Purdue (14), Indiana (17), UCLA (22), and Rutgers (25). It is unclear if the Big 10 will have a powerhouse this season in the way that Purdue has seemingly ran the conference the past two seasons. What the Big 10 definitely will have? A lot of teams fighting their way into and out of the bubble come March.
1. Purdue Boilermakers
Yes, Purdue lost 2-time player of the year Zach Edey. However, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer will continue to lead the backcourt, with forward Trey Kaufman-Renn also returning. Purdue is still positioned to take charge in the Big 10.
This offseason, Purdue decided o replace Zach Edey’s height with Daniel Jacobsen, the 7-4 freshmen from Chicago. Jacobsen will likely be a part of the starting 5 for the Boilermakers season opener on Monday. We should find out early this year if Purdue is the real deal. The Boilermakers play #2 Alabama, #18 Marquette, #13 Texas A&M, and #11 Auburn in non-conference play.
2. UCLA Bruins
Head Coach Mike Cronin and the UCLA Bruins look to rebound after posting a losing record of 16-17, failing to make the NCAA Tournament. While UCLA lost their center, Adem Bona, who averaged 12.4 points per game last year, they added Kobe Johnson, who transferred from UCLA’s cross-town rival USC.
While the Bruins have a favorable non-conference schedule in November, they will be tested in December, as they play Oregon, #10 Arizona, #9 UNC, and #6 Gonzaga all over a three week span.
3. Indiana Hoosiers
Mike Woodson made a big addition picking up Oumar Ballo in the transfer portal. Ballo posted 34 double doubles in three season with the Arizona Wildcats, and could be the best center in the Big 10. The Hoosiers also added Pac-12 Rookie of the Year Myles Rice from Washington State.
Kel’el Ware has departed for the NBA, but Malik Reanu, Trey Galloway, and Mackenzie Mgbako all return for the Hoosiers, as Indiana is now well-positioned to return to The Big Dance.
4. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
It’s dangerous to put a Rutgers team that will be led by two freshmen, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, all the way up at the four spot in these rankings. Bailey and Harper will have to make up for the loss of star Cliff Omoruyi, as he transferred down to Alabama. But if these freshmen live up to the hype, there’s no reason Rutgers can’t contend for the Big 10 Championship this season, and could be a threat in the NCAA Tournament.
5. Illinois Fighting Illini
This Illinois squad is unrecognizable from last season, as Terrance Shannon, Coleman Hawkins, Quincy Guerrier, Dain Dainja, among others, will not return.
Head Coach Brad Underwood looked to the ever-active transfer portal, picking up Arizona guard Kylan Boswell, who averaged close to 10 points per game last season. A promising freshmen core of Will Riley, Morez Johnson, Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic will need to make an impact. With a lot of question marks, Underwood looks to lead this Illini team back to the postseason.
6. Oregon Ducks
Jackson Shelstad emerged as a leading player for the Ducks in his freshmen campaign, averaging 12.8 points per game. He was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshmen Team. Shelstad, along with fellow sophomore Kwane Evans Jr., will be two of the key players for the Ducks this season.
7. Michigan State Spartans
Tom Izzo has been one of the best coaches in the Big 10 over the past three decades, and his presence will be needed to elevate this team into the tournament.
Izzo lost four starters from last season. Now, it’s up to the sophomore class, led by Jeremy Feers, Coen Carr, and Xavier Booker, to take the reigns. This is yet another Big 10 team that is in the “wait and see” category entering the 2024-25 season.
8. USC Trojans
The Bronny James era is over at USC… although it’s unclear if it ever really started. After finishing the 2023-24 season with a losing record, the Trojans hired Eric Musselman as their head coach.
Musselman proceeded to sign a whopping eight transfers, all of whom averaged double digit points per game last season. Is Musselman crazy or does he have something brewing here with the Trojans? Signs point to the latter as USC took down #6 Gonzaga in an exhibition game this past week.
9. Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin lost Chucky Hepburn and A.J. Storr to the transfer portal following a disappointing first round exit at the hands of James Madison in the NCAA Tournament. They added three players from the portal, John Tonje, Camren Hunter, and Xavier Amos, all of who averaged double digit points in their last season.
It seems that Head Coach Greg Gard is keen on letting his returning talent in Kamari Mcgee, John Blackwell, Nolan Winter and Steven Crowl lead the team, while Tonje joins the starting 5. After playing just one NCAA Torunament game over the last two seasons, Gard might be on the hot seat this year.
10. Michigan Wolverines
Dusty May takes charge as head coach for the Wolverines following Juwan Howard’s departure. May had an excellent track record at Florida Atlantic, taking the Owls to the Final Four in 2023 as the No. 9 seed, having gone 35-4 in the regular season.
May took Vlad Goldin, FAU’s star center, to Michigan. He added a total of five transfers, highlighted by Danny Wolfe and Roddy Gayle, to round out the roster. After Michigan ended the 2023-24 season on a 9-game losing streak with a final record of 8-24, there’s only one direction for the Wolverines to go… up.
11. Northwestern Wildcats
This is a risky choice here, as Boo Buie, who averaged 19 points per game, departs. However, the Wildcats return three of their five starters, and are coming off a season in which they won an NCAA Tournament game.
Brooks Barnhizer and Ty Berry will need to step up into a larger role to replace the scoring of Boo Buie. This team has experience in the postseason, however, and it would not be surprising to see them fight their way inside the bubble come March.
12. Ohio State Buckeyes
Last season, the Buckeyes fired Head Coach Chris Holtmann, replacing him with Interim Head Coach Jake Diebler. Under Diebler, the Buckeyes went 8-3, and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals. Now, Diebler is at the helm moving into the 2024-25 season.
The Buckeyes have four transfers that are projected to be in their starting lineup alongside guard Bruce Thornton, one of Ohio State’s top players last season. How will a starting five that’s never played with one another fair? This might be a team that has some growing pains early on this year.
13. Maryland Terrapins
Maryland is coming off a 16-17 season in which they missed out on the NCAA Tournament. Head Coach Kevin Willard went to work, signing five-star center Derik Queen, the 12th-ranked recruit in his class. Willard added an additional four transfers to accompany returning forward Julian Reese. There’s a pattern emerging here in the Big 10… a lot of turnover within teams.
14. Iowa Hawkeyes
Star forward Payton Sandfort decided to return to the Iowa Hawkeyes for the 2024-25 season rather than declaring for the NBA draft. Their center, Owen Freeman is coming off a freshmen campaign in which he averaged 10.6 points per game. If Sandfort and Freeman continue to improve, then maybe the Hawkeyes can battle their inside the bubble.
15. Nebraska Cornhuskers
After making the tournament for just the second time this century, the road back seems treacherous for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska lost two of its stars in Keisei Tominaga and and C.J. Wilcher, along with role players Jarmarques Lawrence, Josiah Allick and Eli Rice. Rienk Mast suffered a season-ending injury during the preseason, and will take the 2024-25 season as a redshirt year.
Nebraska added the 34th Nick Janowski, the 34th ranked shooting guard this freshmen class. The Cornhuskers will likely need to use this season to try and develop some of their younger talent.
16. Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State will have to rely on their star point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. this season. Much of their core returns this year, and Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry made two nice additions via the transfer portal by adding Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Freddie Dilione. This is a Nittany Lions team that might be able to knock off some top Big 10 opponents during conference play, but the main question entering the season is if they can play with consistency.
17. Washington Huskies
First-year Head Coach Danny Sprinkle has had an interesting past few years, leading Montana State to back-to-back tournament appearances before he took the Utah State Aggies to the tournament last year. Now, Sprinkle is tasked with retooling this Huskies roster.
Sprinkle brought Great Osabor with him from the Aggies, as he is now the top player on this Huskies roster. The Huskies lost most of their main core from last season, bringing in six transfers, highlighted by Osabor and DJ Davis, and two notable freshmen in Zoom Diallo and Jase Butler. This season spells rebuild for the Washington Huskies.
18. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Golly, there are now 18 teams in the Big 10 (the math checks out) and Minnesota bears the honor of finishing dead last in the preseason poll. Dawson Garcia averaged over 17 points per game last year, and is the main bright spot on the Golden Gophers roster. Unless Minnesota has other young talent that emerges this season, it could be a tough year for the Golden Gophers.
CBB Review Preseason Big Ten Basketball Player of the Year
Braden Smith, Purdue
Braden Smith was perhaps overlooked last season with the presence of Zach Edey. Smith averaged 12 points, 7.5 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game last year. Last year, Smith ranked second in the nation in assists. He was efficient from deep, connecting on 43.1% of his threes. Smith should see heightened scoring opportunities with Zach Edey having left for the NBA.
CBB Review Preseason Big Ten Basketball Coach of the Year
Steve Pikiell, Rutgers
Rutgers has one of the most exciting teams in the Big 10 this season. If Pikiell can harness the star power of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, then Rutgers may be poised to finish as a top 3 Big 10 team in regular season play. Given their lackluster performance last year (15-17, 7-13 in conference), a big turnaround may spell Coach of the Year for Steve Pikiell.
CBB Review Preseason Big Ten Basketball Freshman of the Year
Ace Bailey, Rutgers
The 6-10 freshmen is poised to do great things this year for Rutgers. Bailey has already flashed his promise at the collegiate level, posting 25 points in an exhibition against St. Johns on October 17th. As a senior in high school, Bailey posted an absurd stat line of 33.4 points and 15.5 rebounds per game. While Bailey can play down low, he’s also a great ball-handler and can shoot it from deep. There is not much that Ace Bailey cannot do.
CBB Review Preseason Big Ten Basketball Transfer of the Year
Oumar Ballo, Indiana
Oumar Ballo had quite the track record at Arizona. He has been on the All Pac-12 First team for back-to-back years, having averaged 12.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game last year. He was a highly efficient 65.8% from the floor, but he did struggle at the free throw line, knocking down just 49.5% of his attempts. Ballo should stand out on a highly-touted Indiana roster, making him a prime candidate for this award.
CBB Review Preseason Big Ten Basketball First Team
- G: Braden Smith, Purdue
- G: Dylan Harper, Rutgers
- F: Oumar Ballo, Indiana
- F: Payton Sandfort, Iowa
- F: Ace Bailey, Rutgers
CBB Review Preseason Big Ten Basketball Second Team
- G: Fletcher Loyer, Purdue
- G: Dylan Andrews, UCLA
- G: Desmond Claude, USC
- G: Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
- F: Great Osabor, Washington
CBB Review Preseason Big Ten Basketball Third Team
- G: John Tonje, Wisconsin
- G: Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
- G: Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
- G: Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
- F: Julian Reese, Maryland
CBB Review Preseason Big Ten Basketball All-Freshmen Team
- G: Dylan Harper, Rutgers
- G: Will Riley, Illinois
- F: Ace Bailey, Rutgers
- F: Daniel Jacobsen, Purdue
- F: Derik Queen, Maryland