It’s been more than 25 years since Michigan State cut down the nylon and claimed the most recent NCAA Tournament Championship by a team in the Big Ten. Within that winless span, Jason Richardson, one of the leaders of Tom Izzo’s 2000 championship squad, played out a career in the NBA and raised a son named Jase, who joined Izzo and the Spartans last year in their run to the Elite Eight, before declaring for the NBA Draft himself. Talk about a generational drought.
But in this new era where players come and go as they please and rosters get turned on their heads in less than a week, nothing is set in stone for long. It’s a system that frustrates many, but has done wonders for the Big Ten like no other conference this offseason.
After pulling in seven of the [top-20 transfer](https://247sports.com/season/2025-basketball/transferteamrankings/) classes in 2025 — and a few other programs keeping some big names home — the Big Ten landed six teams in the AP [Top 25 Preseason Poll](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings), with Purdue taking the No. 1 overall spot.
The conference is loaded with talent, and wide open. With so many rosters being recognized as some of the nation’s best in the preseason, title hopes are alive across the Big Ten. The Michigan Daily is here to help you determine whether one of these untested teams can end the quarter-century title drought the Big Ten has endured, or if they’re all bound to once again form the conference that cried “this is our year.”
**The Top**
**No. 1 Purdue**
In this current tumultuous college basketball landscape, Purdue has been a constant. The Boilermakers once again return guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer alongside forward Trey Kaufmann-Renn. All three were on the roster that, led by Zach Edey, made a push to the NCAA Championship game two years ago, and adjusted well last season without the former best player in college basketball.
Smith averaged 15.8 points and 8.7 assists last season in Edey’s absence, and is now considered the favorite for the Wooden Award himself. Loyer and Kaufmann-Renn also stepped up their own roles big time, but arguably more interesting is the one new guy running around Mackey this year.
Painter’s one big transfer portal acquisition this offseason — former South Dakota State forward Oscar Cluff — is there to address all the talk about the Boilermakers lacking defensive aptitude. Voted Player of the Year by the Summit League and Best Mustache by me, the 6-foot-11 Cluff comes to Purdue as an elite inside defender who can also use his size and physicality to score. Averaging 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds and named to the Summit League All-Defensive team with South Dakota State last year, Cluff has a lot to offer a team that already felt close to complete a year ago.
**No. 7 Michigan**
The anti-Purdue. Bringing in an array of elite talent from outside sources, coach Dusty May has put a group together that many consider one of the best in the nation when the ball is in their hands. The problem is, they too often throw that ball away. If the Wolverines can limit turnovers, it’s gonna be hard to stop them. For more on Michigan, head over to The Daily’s roster breakdown.
**No. 17 Illinois**
Brad Underwood loves his Balkans. Between the Ivisic brothers — Tomislav and Zvonomir — California transfer Andrej Stojakovic, and two more acquisitions from the Adriatic league in the offseason, the ninth-year head coach has capitalized on international talent like no other in the Big Ten. These European guys are tall and shoot exceptionally well outside the perimeter, a versatile profile that Underwood looks for when building his rosters.
Tomislav is one of three prominent returners in the starting lineup this year, along with Kylan Boswell and Ben Humrichous. The three averaged 13, 12.3 and 7.5 points per game, respectively, in a year where the Fighting Illini finished tied for seventh in the conference.
Mihailo Petrovic, one of Underwood’s overseas acquisitions, was an MVP candidate in the Adriatic league a year ago. He’s been described as a pass-first traditional guard that can spot up from just about anywhere in the interior, and will be called upon to fill the shoes of Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois’ starting point guard and leading scorer a year ago. And Stojakovic, a talented player from an otherwise lackluster team, can shoot beyond the arc, but more often uses his size and mobility to drive the lane and party with the bigs down low. He’s got defensive prowess as well, with a couple of electric blocks in his highlight reel, and should have little to no issue adjusting to the most physical conference in basketball.
Underwood hasn’t missed the tournament in five years, and with a nice mix of familiar faces and exciting new talent, it wouldn’t be surprising to spot them near the top of a crowded conference.
**Real Contenders**
**No. 12 UCLA**
The number one thing Mick Cronin and his Bruins were missing a year ago was a true offensive playmaker. At least if things go wrong this year, they’ll know that wasn’t the reason why. UCLA went out and got New Mexico guard Donovan Dent out of the transfer portal this offseason, a top-five portal prospect who averaged 20.4 points and 6.4 assists with the Lobos. Dent is incredibly dynamic and efficient on the offensive side of the ball, but his size at 6-foot-2 puts him at somewhat of a disadvantage on defense.
Even without Dent last year, UCLA finished with a record strong enough to earn a seven seed in the NCAA Tournament, and retains three pivotal starters from that roster in Skyy Clark, Tyler Bilodeau and Eric Dailey Jr. All three were solid offensively last year, but having a crafty passer like Dent — 6.4 assists per game last year — will push them to play their best.
**No. 22 Michigan State**
Last year’s Big Ten regular season champions lost the majority of their frontcourt, and didn’t do very much about it in the offseason. With Jeremy Fears being the only prominent name left in the guard room from last year, all attention on the Spartans is directed to the talented backcourt.
Izzo plans on running a lineup with three big men this year — Carson Cooper, Jaxson Kohler and Coen Carr. Cooper and Kohler were playmakers in the starting lineup all year last year, but it’s Carr that is one of the most exciting and athletic players in all of college basketball, and is expected to have a major role in Michigan State’s success with increased minutes.
Izzo took a mostly-homegrown squad to the Elite Eight last year after claiming the Big Ten Title. After neglecting the portal again this offseason, he will aim to do something similar this year to keep his 26-year postseason streak alive.
**Locked and Reloaded**
**Indiana**
There’s a bit of deja vu surrounding former Drake coach Darian Devries’ departure to Indiana. A new coach with plenty of former success at a mid-major taking over a historic Big Ten program and bringing an abundance of talented mid major players with him in the portal. Didn’t that happen last year? It did, with Michigan and Dusty May. And the result was an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen a year after the worst season in program history. Darian Devries isn’t Dusty May, but don’t be shocked if the similar formula works in a kindred way for the Hoosiers.
While many of Indiana’s biggest portal purchases are athletes who thrived in mid majors, the most prominent Indiana transfer is Darian’s son, Tucker, who spent most of last season with West Virginia sidelined with an injury. When healthy, Tucker transformed the Mountaineers offense with his ability to sink a shot from just about anywhere. He entered the portal as the 18th best transfer in this year’s class.
Darian Devries has the experience, and now the players, to be a threat in the Big Ten.
**Iowa**
What are they feeding these Drake coaches? Ben McCollum, the new first-year head coach of the Hawkeyes and an Iowa native, is in his first season at the helm of a power conference team after spending one season with the Bulldogs. In a new environment, it helps to stick to what you know. And what McCollum knows is how to win.
Between his tenure as longtime head coach at Northwest Missouri State and one year spent at Drake, Mccollum has won the conference he’s coaching in for 12 years straight. Sure, coaching at Iowa in the Big Ten means a greater level of competition for him this year. But the jump to Division one with Drake was the same. The way he adjusted to the Missouri Valley Conference was by bringing his old players with him, and he’s trying the same strategy again now, with forward Cam Manyawu and guard Bennett Stirtz following McCollum across county lines. McCollum has already proved he’s a good enough coach to jump levels once. There’s no reason he couldn’t do it again.
**A Few Maybes**
**Wisconsin**
John Tonje’s next-level performance as the last season unfolded was the reason for Wisconsin’s success, and with him gone it’s going to fall on someone else to step up in a big way. All signs point to John Blackwell, the guard that averaged 15.8 points and 5.1 rebounds as Tonje’s sidekick last year, but chances are he’s going to need some help from the multiple transfers around him if the Badgers want to find themselves near the top of the conference again.
**Ohio State**
In his second season at Ohio State, coach Jake Diebler managed to return all three of his highest scoring players from the year prior, a season in which the Buckeyes missed the tournament by a hair. All three returning members of the frontcourt have proven themselves in years past, so a lot will depend on the two mid-major transfers starting in the backcourt to see where Ohio State stacks up.
**Final Thoughts**
All this change should excite the hell out of Big Ten fans. Even with the preseason No. 1 team in the country residing in the conference, the Big Ten Title feels up for grabs, because so much is still left uncertain. With a variety of newcomers and veterans occupying the conference, Michigan finds themselves in the throws with a healthy mix of both — one of many teams in the conference with a legitimate shot at bringing the 26-year dry spell to an end.