Big 10 Conference College Basketball Predictions

Arguably the most talented conference in all of college basketball the Big 10 is comprised of 18 teams. It comprises 8 teams that played in the March Madness tournament last season and has the National Runner up from just two seasons ago. We’ll be breaking down our Big 10 conference rankings from top to bottom and predicting who will win the conference/conference tournament by the end of the season.

1. Purdue - this one is an easy pick considering this team has multiple players returning from their almost title run which they finished as National Runner ups just a few years ago. They also got through a few rounds with last year's team and consistently had a top 10 KenPom offensive ranking. They return Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, and Fletcher Loyer, their three leading scorers and starter Dainel Jacobsen who was out the majority of the year with injury. They also return key contributor CJ Cox and look to go all the way this season.

2. Michigan - after winning the Big 10 tournament in Dusty May’s first season, this team adds Yaxel Lendeborg and returns 40% from distance shooter Nimari Burnett. They’ve also added Elliot Cadeau, an experienced player when it comes to March Madness and players like Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson to fill out the squad. They were able to also make it to the Sweet 16 despite only having a KenPom offense ranked 43rd out of eligible teams. They look to improve offensively and maintain their top 15 KenPom defense this year to get to the Final Four.

3. UCLA - adding Mountain West Player of the Year Donavan Dent and returning three of their top scorers in Tyler Bilodeau, guards Skyy Clark and Trent Perry, and forward Eric Dailey Jr and likely can hold their top 15 KenPom defensive spot. This team could be greatly improved considering they return such an elite defense and now have a guard who could help lead this team to the top of the Conference and potentially into the Final Four.

4. Illinois - Coming in knowing they had the 14th ranked KenPom offense last season with returners Tomislav Ivisic, experienced guard Kylan Boswell and transfers Andrej Stojakovic and Zvonimir Ivisic. They have a very new team and shot poorly from deep last season while still ranking so high offensively. David Mirkovic had 19-point, 14-rebound, six-assists in their win over Illinois State so this team looks deep.

5. Oregon - They are returning their top 2 scorers from last season's 2nd round team in Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad, they look to make a bigger run come March this time around. They have a tough non-conference schedule which could greatly prepare them for Big 10 play. Having a top 25 KenPom defense from last season in hopes of returning back into that and improving offensively from their 34th rank.

6. Wisconsin - With returners including second leading scorer John Blackwell and transfers Austin Rapp and Nick Boyd who helped FAU reach the Final Four, this team had lots of experience to make a run up the conference. They had a top 15 KenPom offense last season and hope to build on last season's offensive success. They lost a two point game to BYU last year, a team who was THAT great offensively.

7. Iowa - Adding Bennett Stirtz who was the 2024-25 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Alvaro Folgueiras who was named to the Horizon League All-First Team, Tavion Banks the Missouri Valley Sixth Man of the Year and numerous other players from tournament team Drake, this team looks to match or improve on their KenPom ranked offensive of 18 and greatly defensively where they were 167th. Drake had been a top 50 defense which can translate considering many of their players have joined head coach Ben McCollum from that program.

8. USC - Having added players who had tremendous success with their prior programs in Chad Baker-Mazara and Rodney Rice gives them immediate elite guards. Baker-Mazara helped lead Auburn to the Final four with a top 5 offense and top 10 defense and Rodney Rice who played with a Maryland team that made it to the Sweet 16. If these two can ball out they truly have a chance to make a surprise run this season.

9. Indiana - with new head coach Darian DeVries and players including Tucker DeVries 2× Missouri Valley ConferencePlayer of the Year in 2023 and 2024, and 2× MVC Tournament MVP in those same years, Indiana has a star player to work with. Lamar Wilkerson and Reed Bailey both provide a ton of scoring inside and outside to also work with.

10. Ohio State - They bring back three of their top scorers from last season in Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. to help climb in their conference record of 9-11 last season.

11. Michigan State - after losing their top three scorers from last season's Elite 8 team, can they get back to being a top 5 KenPom defense? One of their hopes to help them in scoring this season Kaleb Glenn is out for the year but if they can maintain dominating one end of the floor they should always have a chance.

12. Washington - They bring in 5 guys who averaged double figures in ppg last season and hope to improve in their outside top 100 KenPom offensive and defense.

13. Maryland - after a Sweet 16 run last season, can this team keep up the pace this year with a brand new team? They have three incoming players who average double figures in scoring and a new head coach in Buzz Williams.

14. Northwestern - with all Conference level player Nick Martinelli, can he lead this team higher than their 7-13 conference record last season?

15. Minnesota - new head coach Niko Medved coming from Colorado State where he almost won two tournament games despite a 1 point loss to Maryland, this team hopes to build on that kind of success.

16. Nebraska - hoping to improve on their 7-13 conference record last season in a tough conference where they did finish in the top 50 in KenPom defensive ranking.

17. Rutgers - with their two top players going to the NBA last season, they hope their returning can take some of that scoring and return to a top 75 KenPom offense.

18. Penn State - having a 6-14 conference record last season, this team doesn't return much scoring or depth in arguably the toughest conference in all of college basketball

Overall, its hard to pick against a Purdue team that returns so many starters and players in general from not only their National runner up team, but their top 10 KenPom ranked offense just last season. With lots of key transfers happening at Michigan and UCLA, we've got to go with Purdue and their continuity to win both the regular season Conference title but also the Conference Tournament. With that said, we truly think Michigan and UCLA can make a run at it considering they both should return elite defenses with new pieces who've yet to play together through this difficult conference.