Ranking Big Ten basketball teams by tiers: Purdue, Michigan, Illinois at top of ultra-deep conference

The Big Ten was oddly top-heavy in 2024-25. Only eight (of 18) Big Ten teams made the Big Dance, but all of them earned a No. 7 seed or better. It marked a wildly successful year of Big Ten basketball, even without a single team advancing to the Final Four and despite the debacles in Piscataway and Bloomington.

But both blessings and curses hit the league this spring. There’s a serious drain of high-level talent. The Big Ten could have up to eight first-round picks later this month in the 2025 NBA Draft. 

Conversely, no league dominated the coaching carousel more than the Big Ten. Indiana hired West Virginia’s Darian DeVries, who was firmly in the mix for Big 12 Coach of the Year. Iowa nabbed Ben McCollum, who was one of the serious contenders for National Coach of the Year. Minnesota plucked Niko Medved, who is lauded as one of the elite coaches in the Mountain West year after year.

The 2025-26 season looks poised to have a mix of real national championship contenders combined with much-improved depth in this league. On paper, the Big Ten likely has a dozen rosters with legitimate NCAA Tournament hopes. So, how do we parse the contenders from the pretenders in an ultra-deep league where the margins are oh, so slim? Things could change by November, depending on whether there’s a late flip in the portal, a splashy international addition or if summer film work/data dumpster-diving unearths new opinion-shifting revelations, but consider this a way-too-early snapshot with almost all of the Big Ten rosters close to set and newcomers sidling into campus this week for offseason workouts.

Tiers provide a preferable way of contextualizing the outlook.

Tier 1 – Title contenders: Pretty cut and dry. I think these teams have the upside to win the title. Not just make the second weekend. Not just win three in a row because of a nice draw. Six straight, do-or-die wins.Tier 2 – Top 25 caliber club: These teams have accrued plenty of talent and should be safely in the NCAA Tournament field today, but they have a few flaws that could keep them out of the top tier.Tier 3 – Tournament team: These teams have built good rosters and could flirt with top-25 status, but let’s be honest: they aren’t serious title threats.Tier 4 – Bubblicious: A Big Dance appearance is in the range of potential outcomes, but the NIT, the Crown (or worse) looms if things fizzle.Tier 5 – The basement: These teams have a slim chance of making the Big Dance unless something drastically clicks or they make a late splash in recruiting.

Let’s take a look at last season’s standings and then dive in.

2024-25 Big Ten standings

Tier 1: National championship contenders

Purdue

2024-25 record: 24-12Postseason: Lost in Sweet 16

Returning starters indicated by * 

Top bench options: C Daniel Jacobsen, G Gicarri Harris, G Omer Mayer, F Liam Murphy, F Raleigh Burgess

The scoop: Purdue has the fewest flaws of any Big Ten team. Smith should spearhead an elite pick-and-roll offense, and Kaufman-Renn is one of the elite low-post scorers who possesses an unguardable floater. Those two All-Americans alone give Purdue a chance to have a special season and all the additions make sense. Cluff should buff up Purdue’s shoddy interior defense and rebounding while providing another physical bruiser that can use post-ups to punish solo coverage. 

Mayer is yet another off-the-dribble shot-maker, which is a massive priority for Purdue coach Matt Painter, and Murphy adds some 3-point shooting. But a healthy Jacobsen could be the biggest “addition” of them all. The 7-foot-4 center was a Day 1 starter before suffering a leg injury in his second-ever collegiate game. Cluff allows Purdue time to work Jacobsen back to full strength, but he’s got all the tools to single-handedly raise the floor of this Purdue defense with his elite rim protection. Plus, his offensive skill is so tantalizing. 

Oh, have we mentioned Loyer, Cox and Harris? Yeah, they’re all back, too. Purdue could struggle to defend big wings, and it’s not the most athletic perimeter unit in the country. But it has Smith, the best point guard in college basketball. And no one else does. 

Michigan

2024-25 record: 27-10Postseason: Lost in Sweet 16 

Top bench options: C Aday Mara, F Will Tschetter, G LJ Cason, G Winters Grady

The scoop: Michigan’s money moves have the Wolverines poised to be one of the elite rebounding teams in the country. That glass-cleaning edge should fuel an outstanding transition offense that can be triggered by the speedy Cadeau or the grab-and-go Lendeborg. Burnett’s shot-making and Johnson’s rim-rocking should be accentuated in the open floor. 

Michigan does have some shooting questions, but its recipe looks ironically similar to rival Michigan State who won the Big Ten last year while actively not taking or making many triples. Lendeborg, Johnson, Mara and Tschetter give Dusty May one of the special frontcourts in college basketball. All do different things at a high level and keep the Wolverines’ floor extremely solid because of the two-point dominance and rebounding edge.

A ceiling-level outcome is likely determined by this backcourt. Can Cadeau eliminate the F-minus decisions? Can Gayle use the Year 2 transfer jump to eliminate the freezing-cold streaks? Can Cason become an effective bucket off the bench? If things coalesce, Michigan can absolutely win this league because its strengths travel every single night.

Tier 2: Top 25 caliber club

Illinois

2024-25 record: 22-13Postseason: Lost in second round

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPPG Mihailo Petrovic (International signee)G Kylan Boswell*G Andrej Stojakovic (Cal transfer)F Ben Humrichous*C Tomislav Ivisic*

Top bench options: F Ty Rodgers, C Zvonimir Ivisic, F David Mirkovic, G Brandon Lee, F Jake Davis

The scoop: Illinois has built a grizzled, balanced and Balkan-flavored roster that can hoop. Only four 7-footers in college basketball made more than 40 3-pointers last year. Two of them (Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic) will play for Illinois next year. Brad Underwood smartly surrounded his sweet-shooting centers with excellent sources of rim pressure. Boswell flourished down the stretch as a cutter and driver. Stojakovic, a Cal transfer, is a big wing who notched a whopping 172 shots at the rim last season. Tomislav Ivisic, Boswell, and Stojakovic give Illinois a Big Three that can go toe-to-toe with anybody, and there is not much positional overlap among these role players. 

Petrovic is a veteran Serbian who gives the Illini a traditional initiator point guard. Rodgers is a high-energy forward who should guard big wings and can be effective as a cutter when paired with a playmaking hub like Tomislav Ivisic. Mirkovic is best-suited as an interior passer and play-finisher, while Humrichous does almost all his damage from well beyond the 3-point arc.

It’s not hard to envision this group being one of the outstanding offenses in the Big Ten and top-10 nationally, because it can create good looks in a variety of ways and Underwood can flip-flop between traditional and unique personnel pairings on the fly. There are defensive questions, but Boswell is an outstanding perimeter stopper and Illinois’ gameplan to limit both 3s and shots at the rim keeps it from sagging to Fran McCaffery-levels of defensive indifference

UCLA

2024-25 record: 23-11Postseason: Lost in second round

Top bench options: G Jamar Brown, F Xavier Booker, F Brandon Williams, F Steven Jamerson

The scoop: UCLA’s point guard play led to its demise last year. That will not be the case with Dent leading the charge. The New Mexico transfer has All-American upside in 2025-26, and he’s surrounded by so much shooting. Bilodeau and Dailey are plus shooters in the frontcourt. Clark shot over 39% from downtown last year, and Brown is an off-movement sniper. Even Booker and Perry have appeal as shooters and the quality of look that Dent creates both in transition and the halfcourt can raise the level even more. UCLA’s offensive potency is very real with Dent as the maestro mixed in with Bilodeau and Dailey, who can go create buckets for themselves in a jiffy. Dailey, especially, could be a total nightmare thanks to the Year 2 transfer jump.

That being said, Mick Cronin is going to have to work some magic on the defensive end. This personnel is uninspiring defensively, outside of Clark and Dent ramping it up at the point of attack. Top-150 teams shot 65% at the rim when Dailey and Bilodeau (UCLA’s presumed starting frontcourt) were on the floor together and murdered the Bruins on the glass. 

UCLA is going to be very good, but Aday Mara sticking around could’ve elevated the Bruins to the top of the league.

Tier 3: NCAA Tournament team 

Wisconsin

2024-25 record: 27-10Postseason: Lost in second round

Top bench options: G Braeden Carrington, G Jack Janicki, F Aleksas Riccardo Greppi, F Aleksas Bieliauskas

The scoop: Just a heads up: Wisconsin’s offense is going to put teams in a blender again. Blackwell gives the Badgers a legitimate Big Ten Player of the Year contender, and he’s surrounded by so much shooting. Boyd, Rapp, Rohde and Winter all shot over 35% from downtown last year on real volume. 

Boyd and Blackwell are also pests defensively which will be necessary because the interior defense for Wisconsin could be an area of weakness. There’s a lot riding on Winter leveling up on that end in Year 3. The Badgers don’t have great depth, but this still appears to be a well-constructed team that should make the NCAA Tournament.

Oregon

2024-25 record: 25-10Postseason: Lost in second round

Top bench options: G Dez Lindsay, F Sean Stewart, G Jamari Phillips

The scoop: Oregon has a tremendous go-get-one guard in Shelstad. It has one of the elite two-way centers in the Big Ten in Bittle. Evans is back for Year 3 and the table is set for him to see a spiked role. When those three guys were on the floor together last season, Oregon owned a dazzling +38 net rating, per CBB Analytics. That rated in the 99th percentile nationally, largely because Evans and Bittle built a wall around the rim. Oregon’s cast of role players isn’t quite as proven (there’s room at the inn for one more wing), but Shelstad, Bittle and Evans give the Ducks are real shot to contend.

Michigan State

2024-25 record: 30-7Postseason: Lost in Elite Eight

Top bench options: C Carson Cooper, F Cam Ward, G Kur Teng, G Divine Ugochukwu

The scoop: Michigan State may have lost three of its best-five players (Tre Holloman, Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins), but its non-negotiables aren’t going anywhere. This team is going to rebound the basketball, and Fears is going to get this group out in transition in a hurry. Tom Izzo and this Michigan State staff smartly prioritized Fort and Glenn because they’re terrific shooters, especially in … transition. I do not think that was a coincidence and could be a sign that MSU’s portal scouting has quietly gotten much better. 

MSU has the personnel to continue to be very physical defensively at all three levels with Fears at the point of attack, Carr and Glenn on the wings, Kohler and Cooper in the paint and Ward, who looks every bit the part of a Michigan State forward, waiting in the wings off the bench. I don’t think MSU’s halfcourt offense will be anything to write home about, unless an unproven guard like Teng or Scott really pops into a no-doubt, high-major difference-maker, but MSU is going to be a chore to play against, again. 

Just the way Izzo likes it.

USC

2024-25 record: 17-18Postseason: Lost in second round of College Basketball Crown

Top bench options: G Jordan Marsh, F Amarion Dickerson, F Terrance Williams II*, C Gabe Dynes, F Jaden Brownell, G Jerry Easter

The scoop: USC’s talent level has skyrocketed after the snazzy additions like Rice and Baker-Mazara, but it’s the defense that should be remarkably better in 2025-26. Musselman’s squad now has legit plus size at all five positions. USC should be able to shrink the floor defensively and cause real problems at every level. Of course, there’s a little fretting about the point guard room. Marsh is the lone true point guard on the roster, but both Rice and Baker-Mazara notched north of 150 pick-and-roll reps last year with elite efficiency and slim turnover rates. USC can piece it together with those two alphas if it wants, while maintaining the flexibility to play a traditional point guard in Marsh if things go haywire. Losing Keonte Jones stings, but USC has a deep frontcourt with plenty of versatile, different pieces. Keep an eye on Cofie. The Virginia transfer has all the tools to be a total stud. 

USC is huge, will shoot way more 3-pointers, has multiple different avenues it can use to find efficient offense and should be much-improved defensively. If Arenas is healthy, it may have the best wing corps in the Big Ten. The Trojans smell like a tournament team with room for so much more if everything clicks. 

Indiana

2024-25 record: 19-13Postseason: None

Top bench options: G Jasai Miles, G Conor Enright, F Josh Harris, F Sam Alexis, F Trent Sisley

The scoop: Indiana’s roster-construction is fascinating. This isn’t the most athletic roster in the Big Ten. All 10 transfer additions started at the mid-major ranks, although one could argue Tucker DeVries has never been a mid-major player. There’s not one break-you-down electric guard or an elite back-line rim protector. It’d be a pleasant surprise if anyone on this team cracked a NBA roster one day. And yet, the Hoosiers have a real chance to be a tournament team. 

It’s an old group with lots of shooting, headlined by Tucker DeVries, Wilkerson and Dorn who are high-volume, net-shredders. New IU coach Darian DeVries has real lineup flexibility. He can play two point guards together in Conerway and Enright if he wants. He can play through Bailey as a five-out center, surrounded by four shooters. He can try some double-big lineups without sacrificing much skill. This feels like a pretty big bet on Darian DeVries being a chameleon and finding ways to maximize his roster based on its strengths. Some of his Drake clubs were excellent at limiting the raw volume of shots at the rim. That will likely need to be the case at IU with this frontline that isn’t extremely physically imposing. If Tucker DeVries stays healthy all year, IU’s dancing.

Iowa

2024-25 record: 17-16Postseason: None

Top bench options: G Isaia Howard, F Tavion Banks, G Kael Combs, F Trevor Jirak

The scoop: Iowa’s Big Three of Stirtz, Folgueiras and Ben McCollum isn’t one to be trifled with. Stirtz instantly gives Iowa one of the elite point guards in the Big Ten, and Folgueiras’ secondary playmaking and off-movement shooting helps make him a snug fit in McCollum’s scheme. Toss in another remarkable movement shooter in Hausen paired next to excellent cutters like Manyawu and Banks, and the bones of a tough-to-guard offense is in place. 

There are some faults to pick at. The guard depth isn’t great. Iowa could use another late-cycle addition. Who is the answer on the wing? Can Koch or Howard take leaps as sophomores? While many are concerned about the interior defense, does Iowa have a real point-of-attack defender that it loves? That’s maybe a bigger concern for me. But McCollum has earned the benefit of the doubt as a talent-elevator who will play a style that best fits his team’s chances. His teams are so well-schooled defensively and refuse to allow easy buckets which could mitigate some of the warts. Plus, when a coach and a point guard are in lockstep like McCollum and Stirtz, you have a chance to do damage. This is another tournament-caliber squad, but I’d be surprised if Iowa is in the thick of it to win the Big Ten regular-season title with some of the holes.

Tier 4: Bubblicious

Ohio State

2024-25 record: 17-15Postseason: None

Top bench options: F A’mare Bynum, G Gabe Cupps, F Colin White, G Taison Chatman, C Josh Ojianwuna (knee injury, could miss entire season), G Mathieu Grujicic

The scoop: There are only two high-major teams in the country that are getting their best three players back. Purdue and … Ohio State. That’s not nothing. Ohio State should have one of the best offenses in the Big Ten, thanks to Thornton’s efficient scoring/creation, Mobley’s 3-point barrage and Royal’s isolation brilliance. Ohio State pivoted from toolsy, 5-star renovation projects to veteran, productive mid-major players to headline this frontcourt. Tilly is the gem of the group. The Santa Clara product is a total beast who does a little bit of everything well. He looks every bit the part of a high-major big man, and Ohio State is counting on him to be a two-way force.

Maybe Ohio State is a piece short on the wing or doesn’t have enough depth, but this just has to be a tournament team. If not, something dreadful went wrong.

Maryland

2024-25 record: 27-9Postseason: Lost in Sweet 16

Top bench options: G Darius Adams, G Diggy Coit, G Rakease Passmore

The scoop: New Maryland coach Buzz Williams has built a defensive nucleus that can be pretty vicious. This is one of the more athletic teams in the league, headlined by Washington who instantly becomes one of the elite wing defenders in the Big Ten. Payne is going to be a walking double-double who cleans the glass at a high level and adds interior thump on both ends. He’s Kofi Cockburn-lite. Saunders is another high-flying athlete who is super-duper physical. Passmore can jump out of the gym. The Terps are going to be hyenas on the offensive glass, like every Williams-coached club.

I’m buying a bit of the post-hype sleeper appeal with the talented Rice, who is playing for a coach who breathes confidence into his lead guards and cedes infinite offensive freedom. When he’s right, Rice’s first step can be dynamic, but he was all out of sorts last year at Indiana. If Rice is right, there’s enough talent in this backcourt for Maryland to make the tournament rather comfortably with Adams, Watts and even Coit mixing in. But the offensive ceiling is limited if Maryland is trying to make it work with two non-shooters (Washington and Payne) on the floor at the same time as Rice, a low-volume shooter himself. Optimism reigns supreme in June, but there’s a world where this halfcourt offense is downright atrocious when teams can just load up, plug gaps and force a ton of contested jumpers. 

Washington

2024-25 record: 13-18Postseason: None

Top bench options: G JJ Mandaquit, F Jacob Ognacevic, C Franck Kepnang, F Christian Nitu, G/F Bryson Tucker

The scoop: Danny Sprinkle’s roster is way, way more talented heading into Year 2. This backcourt has serious juice, headlined by Yates, who was a total baller at USC, and Peterson, who checks off a ton of boxes for transfer-up guards. Peterson, Yates and Diallo should have no issues generating offense. Washington’s tournament outlook hinges on Steinbach finding his footing at the high-major ranks quickly as a high-feel German forward who can pass, dribble, shoot and defend. Steinbach and Sommerville give Sprinkle two skilled bigs with soft touch in the paint. But can this group get stops? A healthy Kepnang would be a real development for a UW rim defense that got shredded whenever he wasn’t on the floor (65%, per hoop-explorer).

Nebraska

2024-25 record: 21-14Postseason: The Crown champions

Top bench options: G Kendall Blue, F Berke Buyuktuncel*, F Jared Garcia, G Ahron Ulis, G Sam Hoiberg

The scoop: Fred Hoiberg’s most important player is back! When healthy, Mast is a masterful manipulator of defenses, and he will be the hub of everything the Huskers try to run offensively. Jarusevicius, a Central Michigan transfer, should give Nebraska some extra low-post scoring. Mast will get him the rock with some high-low looks. Essegian and Sandfort are high-level, off-movement shooters. Mast will get ’em the ball. Blue, a St. Thomas transfer, is a 6-6 lead guard who Nebraska hopes can step into the vacated Brice Williams role as a shooter/driver off the dribble handoffs that litter Nebraska’s gorgeous scheme. The Huskers have plenty of shooting, real positional size and more than enough frontcourt depth. Buyuktuncel and Garcia can both undoubtedly play in the Big Ten, and Nebraska could easily bring those guys off the bench.

But the Huskers do not have that dynamic, proven lead guard who can break down defenses in late-clock scenarios, and there are legitimate trepidations about this defensive personnel. Also, will Nebraska continue to flood the paint, limit shots at the rim and invite an avalanche of 3-pointers? 

Minnesota

2024-25 record: 15-17Postseason: None

Top bench options: G Chansey Willis Jr., F BJ Omot, F Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, C Nehemiah Turner, G Chance Stephens

The scoop: Minnesota does not have that one proven high-major dude, but Niko Medved has accumulated a bunch of rock-solid players who were productive at the mid-major ranks. Tyson, Omot and Durkin are big wings who can shoot it, and Medved’s system has created unguarded catch-and-shoot 3-pointers at a high clip in back-to-back seasons. Reynolds and Willis are paint-touch machines who serve as unselfish creators. There are sharp stylistic fits up and down this roster with enough veterans to be competent in Year 1 under a talent-elevating coach like Medved. Oh, and keeping Asuma will look very smart. Even as a freshman, the 6-3 guard looked more than ready. 

Minnesota will outperform preseason expectations.

Tier 5: The basement

Northwestern

2024-25 record: 17-16Postseason: None

Top bench options: F Tre Singleton, G Justin Mullins, G Jordan Clayton, G/F Angelo Ciarvino

The scoop: Nick Martinelli, armed with his on-point ‘flipper,‘ will return to Northwestern with his sights set on leading the Big Ten in scoring again. Chris Collins is a well-respected coach and a terrific game-planner, but some slippage defensively seems inevitable without core veterans like Brooks Barnhizer, Ty Berry and Matt Nicholson. This is a much younger team that will need Reid to provide instant offense, the hard-working Windham to take a Year 2 leap, and Green to pack on the weight in a major way this offseason to become a Big Ten-caliber wing. The starpower of Martinelli and the coaching from Collins will make Northwestern a tough out, but a lot needs to go right for the ‘Cats to go dancing. 

Penn State

2024-25 record: 16-15Postseason: None

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPG Meluh Tunca (International signee)G Kayden Mingo (247Sports No. 34 player in Class of 2025)G Freddie Dilione V*F Josh Reed (Cincinnati transfer)C Ivan Juric (International signee)

Top bench options: G Dominick Stewart, F Mason Blackwood, F Justin Houser, F Eli Rice

The scoop: Yanic Konan Niederhauser’s rapid evolution into a potential first-round pick is a great signal of Mike Rhoades’ scouting and player-development chops, but it’s a deathblow for this current 2025-26 roster. Penn State is in rough shape, compared to most of its Big Ten rivals. The table is set for Mingo, the highest-rated recruit in the modern era of Penn State basketball, to rock and roll from Day 1. No Big Ten freshman will have a bigger role than Mingo from the jump. Dilione still has some appeal, and he wisely stuck around to try and take advantage of this wide-open depth chart. Cincinnati transfer Josh Reed fits Rhoades’ ethos defensively and Tunca can run the show at point guard.

But after those four, there are a million questions. Penn State seems on the verge of going all-in on a youth movement with the hope of retaining, developing and building together for a run in 2026-27, but that’s a scary proposition in this portal-heavy ecosystem.

Rutgers

2024-25 record: 15-17Postseason: None

Top bench options: F Dylan Grant*, C Baye Fall, G Lino Mark, F Chris Nwuli, F Denis Badalau

The scoop: Rutgers does not have the resources of some of its Big Ten foes, and the roster highlights that. Steve Pikiell is going to have to dip into his player-development bag and bring back a gritty, slow-playing, defense-first plan because Rutgers does not look to have the talent to go shot-for-shot in a high-possession game. The interior defense with Ogbole, Buchanan, Grant and Fall should be solid, but there’s real concern about how Rutgers can actually score consistently. Francis has a smooth-looking jumper, but he rarely got to the rim in the America East Conference. Playing jump shot roulette in the Big Ten is a terrifying thought. Zrno, a sweet-shooting, 6-6 Bosnian wing who generated real high-major interest and was once committed to Indiana, will need to be a massive smash from the international market for Rutgers to flirt with an NCAA Tournament bid.

It could be a long, cold winter in Piscataway.