If the two members of our panel who project the Hawkeyes to finish eighth are correct, then this team will likely fall short of that well-established precedent. Big Ten most underrated team Iowaĭoubt Fran McCaffery at your own peril, but he has suffered just one losing season in Big Ten play over the past 10 years. Tom Izzo can still get this team to the NCAA Tournament, but there is little here to suggest the Spartans improve on the middle of the pack Big Ten finishes they've posted the past two seasons. Unless 6-8 senior forward Malik Hall makes a significant leap, there is likely not an all-conference player on this team. Michigan State's roster features just 10 scholarship players, none of whom averaged double digits for the Spartans last season. Though former Marquette and North Carolina forward Dawson Garcia was a great pickup in the transfer portal, this roster is still being rebuilt, and it will be at least another season before a five-man freshman class can help Minnesota reach the league's middle class.īig Ten most overrated team Michigan State Last year's leading scorer, Jamison Battle, returns and the 6-7 wing will need to carry a heavy load again. The Gophers started 10-1 under first-year coach Ben Johnson last season but didn't have the depth or firepower to withstand the rigors of the Big Ten. Zach Edey | C | Purdue: With Purdue's center hierarchy cleared for Edey, expect him to challenge Dickinson and Jackson-Davis for the league's rebounding and blocks titles, and potentially for the scoring title if his conditioning and foul-avoidance allow. Hunter Dickinson | C | Michigan: It's hard to imagine how Dickinson could improve in many statistically significant ways, but he'll be even more important to what the Wolverines do this season than he was a year ago. Even if he doesn't add perimeter offense to his repertoire this season, he'll still terrorize Big Ten opponents on both ends of the floor while helping the Hoosiers build on the major step forward they took last season. The only reason he's not in the NBA is because he doesn't have a 3-point shot. The 6-foot-9 big man has led the Hoosiers in scoring in each of his three seasons on campus, and he turned into an elite shot blocker last season to boot. Liddell ( Ohio State) are no longer part of the fray.Īs tipoff inches closer for the 2022-23 college basketball season, let's take a closer look at the Big Ten's top stars and its teams.ĬBS Sports Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year Trayce Jackson-Davis | Center | IndianaĪfter helping Indiana snap a five-year NCAA Tournament drought last season, Jackson-Davis opted to return for his senior season, and when he did it sent the Indiana hype into overdrive.

In the meantime, who is its top squad? That is an open-ended question entering the 2022-23 season as stars like Keegan Murray ( Iowa) Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Johnny Davis ( Wisconsin) and E.J. With UCLA and USC set to join the league for the 2024-25 season, the Big Ten is only going to improve as a basketball conference in the years ahead. But a new season is on the horizon along with a new chance for the conference to plant its flag atop the sport. In fact, only two Big Ten squads made it past the first weekend of the Big Dance, which was particularly disappointing after the league again received acclaim for its parity. Some fresh blood might be a good thing for the Big Ten, though, after none of the league's nine NCAA Tournament teams advanced beyond the Sweet 16 as the conference's national title drought grew to 22 years in 2022. The Big Ten is undergoing a makeover for the 2022-23 season after 15 of the league's top 20 scorers from last season departed the conference.

Big 10 basketball tournament