The question entering the Big Ten men’s basketball season is which team will challenge defending champion Purdue.
The Boilermakers, with reigning national player of the year Zach Edey and his strong supporting cast, are the prohibitive favorites to win a second straight regular-season championship. Michigan State is a possible challenger.
Purdue, unranked in the preseason a year ago, enters this season No. 3, followed by No. 4 Michigan State. The Big Ten’s only other ranked team is No. 25 Illinois. The Big Ten hasn’t had so few teams in the preseason Top 25 since 2018-19.
Here’s a team-by-team preview of the 2023-24 season.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois coach Brad Underwood is confident he has addressed the issues that caused his team to underachieve last season despite finishing 20-13 and making its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Illini have more leaders. More depth. More experience. And more of a commitment to executing on offense instead of settling for a contested 3-pointer. With all of that in place, Underwood wants his players to embrace his “everyday guys” approach.
With eight players back from last season, the No. 25 Illini have one of the most experienced rosters in the nation. Read more here.
Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana coach Mike Woodson returned to his alma mater for one reason — to win championships.
Now entering his third season, Woodson and his team still are trying to earn their first major title and think it’s time to end their drought.
“My goal is nothing individually,” point guard Xavier Johnson said as he begins his sixth college season. “I want to win. That’s the last thing on my list to do in college is to win.” Read more here.
Iowa Hawkeyes
It has been a while since Iowa went into a season without a big-name player.
Luka Garza was the national player of the year in 2021. Keegan Murray was a first-round NBA draft pick in 2022, and his twin brother, Kris, was a first-rounder in 2023.
The way coach Fran McCaffery looks at this season, the whole might be greater than the sum of its parts. Read more here.
Maryland Terrapins
In Kevin Willard’s first season as Maryland coach, the Terrapins made it to the NCAA Tournament and won a first-round game. They also had one obvious area for improvement.
The Terps went 16-1 at home, 2-9 on the road and 4-3 at neutral sites in 2022-23. That wasn’t such a bad trade-off for a new coach — if you’re trying to win over a fan base, playing well at home is an important first step. Still, if Maryland is going to compete for Big Ten titles, the Terrapins need more success on opposing courts. Read more here.
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan basketball appears to be in a rebuilding mode, losing its top three scorers from last season. The Wolverines are unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time in four years.
Giving the program one more challenge, coach Juwan Howard has been recovering from heart surgery since mid-September.
“He was brave enough and smart enough to know he didn’t feel right,” interim coach Phil Martelli said. “He asked for help and he went to experts and he followed through.”
On the court, Michigan also will be missing some familiar faces. Read more here.
Michigan State Spartans
Tom Izzo has built a Hall of Fame career by being a hard-driving, tough-to-please coach at Michigan State.
Izzo’s frank assessments of his teams over the last few decades usually are critical. Not this year.
“I’m going to go a little unconventional and tell you I love my team,” Izzo said before starting his 29th season. “I’ve seen some veterans change. I’ve seen the middle group grow. And I’ve seen the young guys with a lot of talent.” Read more here.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
After Minnesota went 22-39 overall and 6-33 in the Big Ten, there is pressure this season on coach Ben Johnson to shepherd measurable progress even with external expectations never lower. The Gophers were picked to finish last in the preseason poll of media covering the conference.
For now, with the opener on Nov. 6 against Bethune-Cookman coming up, Johnson and his staff can start by relishing the fact they finally have a full roster.
“Music to my ears,” Johnson said. Read more here.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska more than doubled its number of Big Ten wins last season to mark the biggest improvement in Fred Hoiberg’s four years coaching the Cornhuskers. He expects the ascent to continue with a roster that ranks as the conference’s oldest.
The Huskers went 16-16 for their first non-losing season since 2018-19 despite four rotation players missing time because of injuries. They were 12th in the Big Ten at 9-11 after they won six of their final eight regular-season games.
“Had we stayed healthy last year, I think we would have had a great chance to be an NCAA Tournament team,” Hoiberg said. “We had that grit, defensive mindset and identity, and we wanted to get that same group of guys in here this year. So far that’s what I’ve seen.” Read more here.
Northwestern Wildcats
From occupying one of the hottest seats in college basketball to leading his team on an unexpected NCAA Tournament run, Northwestern coach Chris Collins sure turned things around last season.
The Wildcats hope to build on their success. And, most of all, avoid a repeat of the last time they were in a position like this.
Led by star guard Boo Buie, Northwestern has four of its top six scorers back from a team coming off a bounce-back season few outside the program envisioned. It ended with the school’s second NCAA Tournament appearance. Read more here.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Mike Rhoades didn’t have a team to coach when Penn State hired him in March.
Graduations and defections after Micah Shrewsberry’s departure for Notre Dame gutted the Nittany Lions roster. Rhoades, plucked from VCU after three NCAA Tournament appearances in the last four years, turned to familiar faces to jump-start his new program.
In less than 60 days, Rhoades signed 10 players from eight schools, including former VCU star Ace Baldwin Jr. and former North Carolina standout Puff Johnson, who had a hand in the Tar Heels’ run to the 2022 NCAA championship game.
Transfers from Miami, Georgetown, Dickinson, Lafayette and Temple rounded out the roster. Read more here.
Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue center Zach Edey thought long and hard about leaving for the NBA last spring.
He just found too many reasons to stay in school.
Adding a third Big Ten championship ring to his collection sounded intriguing. The 7-foot-4 Canadian also thought he could improve on last season’s breakout campaign. And, of course, he and the rest of the third-ranked Boilermakers wanted one more shot at winning a national championship. Read more here.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State provided a tantalizing look at what might be when the Buckeyes beat three higher-seeded teams in the Big Ten Tournament before losing to top seed and eventual champion Purdue in a semifinal.
Up until then, it had been a season to forget for the Buckeyes, particularly during a long, frustrating stretch in January and February when they lost 14 of 15 conference games. Read more here.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Steve Pikiell is entering his eighth season at Rutgers, and this one could be very different.
Change is the watchword for the Scarlet Knights. The roster is almost unrecognizable, the style of play is uncertain and so is what’s in store for the program heading into another Big Ten season. Read more here.
Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin’s magic touch in close games started to wear off late last season and led to a rare absence from the NCAA Tournament.
The Badgers are confident their improved depth will help them recapture that winning formula. Read more here.