We are three months away from Indiana’s season opener against SIU-Edwardsville at Assembly Hall.
Big Ten rosters are mostly set and the fall semester will begin by the end of the month. The new 18-team conference should announce the league schedule in early September.
Here’s our initial forecast of the Big Ten standings for the 2024-25 season:
18. Minnesota (19-15 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Mike Mitchell Jr., Dawson Garcia, Parker Fox, Kadyn Betts
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Jack Wilson, Cam Christie
Transfer portal: Pharrel Payne (to Texas A&M), Elijah Hawkins (to Texas Tech), Joshua Ola-Joseph (to California), Braeden Carrington (to Tulsa), Isaiah Ihnen (to Liberty), Kristupas Keinys (to Pacific)
Arriving: Brennan Rigsby (from Oregon), Frank Mitchell (from Canisius), Caleb Williams (from Macalester), Femi Odukale (from New Mexico State), Trey Edmonds (from UTSA), Lu’Cye Patterson (from Charlotte), Tyler Cochran (from Toledo), Isaac Asuma, Grayson Grove
The case for Minnesota: Ben Johnson exceeded expectations last season, finishing 19-15 after being picked last in the conference in the preseason. He’ll be highly motivated again with his job potentially on the line.
The case against Minnesota: The Gophers lost arguably their three best players – Payne, Hawkins and Christie – which is a lot to overcome.
17. Washington (17-15 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Wilhelm Breidenbach, Franck Kepnang, Christian King
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Anthony Holland, Sahvir Wheeler, Paul Mulcahy, Moses Wood, Keion Brooks Jr.
Transfer portal: Braxton Meah (to Nebraska), Samuel Ariyibi (to Utah Tech), Wesley Yates III (to USC), Koren Johnson (to Louisville), Nate Calmese (to Washington State)
Arriving: DJ Davis (from Butler), Mekhi Mason (from Rice), KC Ibekwe (from Oregon State), Chris Conway (from Oakland), Zoom Diallo (247Composite top 40), Luis Kortright (from Rhode Island), Tyler Harris (from Portland), Great Osobor (from Utah State), Tyree Ihenacho (from North Dakota), Jase Butler, Dominique Diomande
The case for Washington: The Huskies hired a coach who wins in Danny Sprinkle and made one of the top transfer portal additions in the league in Osobor.
The case against Washington: While the Huskies added plenty from the portal, the overall talent level on this roster is still below most of the Big Ten.
16. USC (15-18 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Harrison Hornery
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Joshua Morgan, Isaiah Collier, DJ Rodman, Boogie Ellis, Bronny James
Transfer portal: Brandon Gardner (to Arizona State), Arrinten Page (to Cincinnati), Vincent Iwuchukwu (to St. John’s), Kijani Wright (to Vanderbilt), Kobe Johnson (to UCLA), Oziyah Sellers (to Stanford)
Arriving: Clark Slajchert (from Penn), Bryce Pope (from UC San Diego), Saint Thomas (from Northern Colorado), Chibuzo Agbo (from Boise State), Josh Cohen (from UMass), Matt Knowling (from Yale), Rashaun Agee (from Bowling Green), Terrence Williams III (from Michigan), Desmond Claude (from Xavier), Kevin Patton Jr. (from San Diego), Wesley Yates III (from Washington), Isaiah Elohim (247Composite top 50), Jalen Shelley (247Composite top 60)
The case for USC: Eric Musselman is a program builder who hit the portal hard immediately after landing the USC job last spring.
The case against USC: It’s a tough ask for any program to return only one player and find immediate success. How will all the pieces fit together? We just saw Musselman fail with a team mostly built from the portal last season at Arkansas.
15. Penn State (16-17 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Ace Baldwin Jr., D’Marco Dunn, Nick Kern, Zach Hicks, Puff Johnson
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Leo O’Boyle, Qudus Wahab, RayQuawndis Mitchell
Transfer portal: Kayne Clary (to Mississippi State), Jameel Brown (to Temple), Demetrius Lilley (to La Salle), Favour Aire (to Bryant), Bragi Gudmundsson (to Campbell)
Arriving: Eli Rice (from Nebraska), Kachi Nzeh (from Xavier), Freddie Dilione V (from Tennessee), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (from Northern Illinois), Miles Goodman, Hudson Ward, Dominick Stewart, Jahvin Carter
The case for Penn State: The Nittany Lions return a solid core, including Baldwin Jr., one of the league’s best guards.
The case against Penn State: Penn State desperately lacks interior talent, which will be a problem in the Big Ten.
14. Wisconsin (19-14 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Kamari McGee, Max Klesmit, John Blackwell, Nolan Winter, Steven Crowl, Carter Gilmore (walk-on), Markus Ilver, Chris Hodges
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Tyler Wahl
Transfer portal: Chucky Hepburn (to Louisville), Isaac Lindsey (to South Dakota State), AJ Storr (to Kansas), Connor Essegian (to Nebraska), Gus Yalden (to Seton Hall)
Arriving: Camren Hunter (from Central Arkansas), Xavier Amos (from Northern Illinois), John Tonje (from Missouri), Daniel Freitag, Jack Robison, Andrija Vukovic
The case for Wisconsin: The Badgers are always competitive under Greg Gard and have a relatively high floor because of their disciplined style of play.
The case against Wisconsin: The transfer portal decimated the program as Storr, Hepburn and Essegian departed.
13. Nebraska (23-11 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Brice Williams, Juwan Gary, Rienk Mast (out for the season), Sam Hoiberg, Ahron Ulis
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Keisei Tominaga, Josiah Allick, Jarron Coleman
Transfer portal: Matar Diop (to Loyola Marymount), Eli Rice (to Penn State), Ramel Lloyd (to Long Beach State), CJ Wilcher (to Texas A&M), Blaise Keita (to Western Kentucky), Jamarques Lawrence (to Rhode Island)
Arriving: Connor Essegian (from Wisconsin), Gavin Griffiths (from Rutgers), Rollie Worster (from Utah), Andrew Morgan (from North Dakota State), Braxton Meah (from Washington), Berke Buyuktuncel (from UCLA), Nick Janowski, Braden Frager
The case for Nebraska: The Huskers return two significant contributors in Williams and Gary and also found success in the transfer portal with several impact newcomers.
The case against Nebraska: The loss of Tominaga will be tough to overcome and Mast’s injury will lower the ceiling for this Huskers roster.
12. Northwestern (22-12 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Ty Berry, Brooks Barnhizer, Nick Martinelli, Matt Nicholson, Luke Hunger, Blake Smith, Jordan Clayton, Justin Mullins, Blake Barkley
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Boo Buie, Ryan Langborg, Blake Preston
Transfer portal: Parker Strauss (to UC Riverside)
Arriving: Jalen Leach (from Fairfield), Keenan Fitzmorris (from Stony Brook), KJ Windham, Angelo Ciaravino
The case for Northwestern: The duo of Berry and Barnhizer will be formidable and Chris Collins has guided the program to back-to-back NCAA tournaments for the first time in program history.
The case against Northwestern: There’s no replacing Buie, one of the most impactful guards in the Big Ten in recent memory.
11. Iowa (19-15 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Payton Sandfort, Brock Harding, Josh Dix, Owen Freeman, Pryce Sandfort, Ladji Dembele, Even Brauns, Riley Mulvey
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Ben Krikke
Transfer portal: Tony Perkins (to Missouri), Patrick McCaffery (to Butler), Dasonte Bowen (to St Bonaventure)
Arriving: Drew Thelwell (from Morehead State), Seydou Traore (from Manhattan), Cooper Koch (247Composite top 80), Chris Tadjo
The case for Iowa: Sandfort, one of the top players in the conference, is back for his senior season and could be an All-Big Ten first-team player.
The case against Iowa: Losing Perkins to Missouri sets back the backcourt and Iowa didn’t do enough to improve upon a roster that missed the NCAA tournament last spring.
10. Maryland (16-17 last season)
Eligibility remaining: DeShawn Harris-Smith, Julian Reese, Jordan Geronimo, Jahari Long, Chance Stephens, Braden Pierce
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Donta Scott, Jahmir Young
Transfer portal: Mady Traore (Frank Phillips College), Caelum Swanton-Rodger (to Old Dominion), Jaime Kaiser Jr. (to Butler), Jahnathan Lamothe (to North Carolina A&T), Noah Batchelor (to Buffalo)
Arriving: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (from Belmont), Selton Miguel (from South Florida), Rodney Rice (from Virginia Tech), Tafara Gapare (from Georgia Tech), Jayhlon Young (from Memphis), Derik Queen (247Composite top 15), Malachi Palmer
The case for Maryland: Reese is back and the Terps added Gillespie, an impact guard and Queen, a top 15 player nationally.
The case against Maryland: Kevin Willard looked in over his head last season as Maryland failed to make the postseason after being picked to finish near the top of the Big Ten.
9. Ohio State (22-14 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Bruce Thornton, Evan Mahaffey, Devin Royal, Taison Chatman (out for the season), Austin Parks, Kalen Etzler
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Jamison Battle, Dale Bonner
Transfer portal: Felix Okpara (to Tennessee), Zed Key (to Dayton), Roddy Gayle Jr. (to Michigan), Scotty Middleton (to Seton Hall), Bowen Hardman (to Akron)
Arriving: Meechie Johnson Jr. (from South Carolina), Micah Parrish (from San Diego State), Aaron Bradshaw (from Kentucky), Sean Stewart (from Duke), Juni Mobley (247Composite top 55), Ques Glover (from Kansas State), Colin White, Ivan Njegovan
The case for Ohio State: The pieces are assembled to make the NCAA tournament after a nice transfer portal haul and the return of Thornton, who should be one of the top guards in the league.
The case against Ohio State: Jake Diebler pulled things together down the stretch last season in Columbus but is unproven as a head coach.
8. Rutgers (15-17 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Jeremiah Williams, Emmanuel Ogbole, Jamichael Davis
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Aundre Hyatt, Noah Fernandes, Austin Williams, Oskar Palmquist
Transfer portal: Derek Simpson (to St. Joseph’s), Antonio Chol (to Howard), Mawot Mag (to BYU), Clifford Omoruyi (to Alabama), Gavin Griffiths (to Nebraska), Antwone Woolfolk (to Miami OH)
Arriving: Zach Martini (from Princeton), Tyson Acuff (from Eastern Michigan), Jordan Derkack (from Merrimack), PJ Hayes (San Diego), Dylan Harper (247Composite top five), Ace Bailey (247Composite top five), Lathan Sommerville, Dylan Grant, Bryce Dortch
The case for Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights have two of the most talented players in the conference: Bailey and Harper Jr.
The case against Rutgers: Losing Omoruyi’s rim protection is a setback for the interior defense. Relying on freshmen is a tough formula for success in the transfer portal era of college hoops.
7. Oregon (24-12 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Jackson Shelstad, Keeshawn Barthelemy, Jadrian Tracey, Nate Bittle, Kwame Evans Jr., Mookie Cook
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: N’Faly Dante, Jesse Zarzuela, Mahamadou Diawara, Jermaine Couisnard
Transfer portal: Kario Oquendo (to SMU), Brennan Rigsby (to Minnesota)
Arriving: Brandon Angel (from Stanford), Ra’Heim Moss (from Toledo), TJ Bamba (from Villanova), Dez Lindsay (from Florida Southwestern State College), Supreme Cook (from Georgetown), Ibrahima Traore, Jamari Phillips
The case for Oregon: Shelstad and Bamba will be an excellent backcourt duo for Dana Altman, who rallied his team late last season to reach the NCAA tournament. And a good chunk of the roster is back.
The case against Oregon: Dante’s loss puts a lot of pressure on Bittle to stay healthy, which he’s had trouble doing throughout his career.
6. Michigan (8-24 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter, Jace Howard
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Olivier Nkamhoua, Tray Jackson, Jaelin Llewellyn
Transfer portal: Terrance Williams II (to USC), Dug McDaniel (to Kansas State), Tarris Reed Jr. (to UConn), Youssef Khayat (to Bowling Green), George Washington III (to Richmond)
Arriving: Tre Donaldson (from Auburn), Roddy Gayle Jr. (from Ohio State), Danny Wolf (from Yale), Rubin Jones (from North Texas), Sam Walters (from Alabama), Vlad Goldin (from Florida Atlantic), Justin Pippen, Durral Brooks, Lorenzo Cason
The case for Michigan: The Wolverines had one of the best offseasons in the conference with the hiring of Dusty May and a transfer portal haul that yielded impact pieces like Donaldson, Gayle Jr., Wolf and Goldin.
The case against Michigan: May, who will be coaching at the high-major level for the first time, will have to put all of the pieces together as a cohesive team.
5. Michigan State (20-15 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Jeremy Fears Jr., Tre Holloman, Jaden Akins, Coen Carr, Xavier Booker, Carson Cooper, Jaxon Kohler, Gehrig Normand
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Malik Hall, Tyson Walker
Transfer portal: Mady Sissoko (to California), AJ Hoggard (to Vanderbilt)
Arriving: Frankie Fidler (from Nebraska Omaha), Szymon Zapala (from Longwood), Jase Richardson (247Composite top 30), Kur Teng (247Composite top 55), Jesse McCulloch
The case for Michigan State: Despite losing Hall, Walker and Hoggard, there’s plenty of talent on this roster and Tom Izzo is still roaming the sidelines in East Lansing.
The case against Michigan State: The Spartans were a disappointment last season and are banking on several underclassmen to break out.
4. Indiana (19-14 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau, Anthony Leal, Gabe Cupps, Jakai Newton
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Kel’el Ware, Xavier Johnson, Anthony Walker
Transfer portal: Payton Sparks (to Ball State), CJ Gunn (to DePaul), Kaleb Banks (to Tulane)
Arriving: Oumar Ballo (from Arizona), Myles Rice (from Washington State), Kanaan Carlyle (from Stanford), Luke Goode (from Illinois), Langdon Hatton (from Bellarmine), Dallas James (from South Carolina State), Bryson Tucker (247Composite top 20)
The case for Indiana: The Hoosiers return several key pieces and had one of the best transfer portal hauls in the country.
The case against Indiana: Indiana ranked outside the top 90 to finish last season in KenPom and will still heavily depend on post-play to win.
3. Illinois (29-9 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, Ty Rodgers
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Marcus Domask, Terrence Shannon Jr., Justin Harmon, Quincy Guerrier
Transfer portal: Luke Goode (to Indiana), Amani Hansberry (to West Virginia), Sencire Harris (to West Virginia), Dain Dainja (to Memphis), Niccolo Moretti (to Florida Atlantic), Coleman Hawkins (to Kansas State)
Arriving: Carey Booth (from Notre Dame), Kylan Boswell (from Arizona), Tre White (from Louisville), Jake Davis (from Mercer), Ben Humrichous (from Evansville), Will Riley (247Composite top 15), Morez Johnson (247Composite top 30), Jason Jaktys, Tomislav Ivisic, Kasparas Jakucionis
The case for Illinois: Brad Underwood has assembled one of the Big Ten’s best rosters with a potent mix of transfers and a freshman in Jakucionis who could give Bailey and Harper Jr. a run for freshman of the year honors.
The case against Illinois: The Illini return just one starter and the production of Domask and Shannon Jr. will be challenging to replace.
2. UCLA (16-17 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Dylan Andrews, Sebastian Mack, Lazar Stefanovic, Brandon Williams, Aday Mara, Devin Williams
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Kenneth Nwuba, Adem Bona, Ilane Fibleuil
Transfer portal: Jan Vide (to Loyola Marymount), Will McClendon (to San Jose State), Berke Buyuktuncel (to Nebraska)
Arriving: Eric Dailey Jr. (from Oklahoma State), William Kyle III (from South Dakota State), Kobe Johnson (from USC), Tyler Bilodeau (from Oregon State), Skyy Clark (from Louisville), Dominick Harris (from Loyola Marymount), Trent Perry (247Composite top 30), Eric Freeny
The case for UCLA: The Bruins have a strong mix of returnees and transfer portal additions, and the belief is last season was an anomaly in what has been an otherwise strong tenure for Mick Cronin.
The case against UCLA: UCLA was a disaster last season and needs to hit on several of its transfer portal additions to be in the mix for the league title.
1. Purdue (34-5 last season)
Eligibility remaining: Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, Myles Colvin, Cam Heide, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Caleb Furst, Brian Waddell, Will Berg
NBA Draft/professional route/out of eligibility: Zach Edey, Lance Jones
Transfer portal: Mason Gillis (to Duke), Ethan Morton (to Colorado State)
Arriving: Gicarri Harris (247Composite top 75), Raleigh Burgess, Daniel Jacobsen, Jack Benter, CJ Cox
The case for Purdue: The Boilermakers return three starters from last season’s national runner-up team and the likely frontrunner for Big Ten player of the year in Braden Smith.
The case against Purdue: Edey, the two-time national player of the year, is gone.
Filed to: Big Ten Power Rankings
