The 2024-25 college basketball season is just over a month away, and that means preseason predictions and accolades are starting to trickle out before the Nov. 4 start date. Purdue was tabbed to win the Big Ten and received 20 first-place votes in the annual media poll conducted by The Columbus Dispatch and Indianapolis Star.
Purdue was one of seven Big Ten programs to receive a first-place vote in the poll, with Indiana, UCLA, Illinois, Michigan State, and Ohio State all receiving at least one first-place vote from the panel of 33 beat writers who cover teams in the conference.
Indiana was tabbed to finish second in the preseason poll, followed by UCLA, Illinois and Michigan State to round out the top five. The Hoisers missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the Mike Woodson era, and reloaded in the transfer portal by adding Oumar Ballo (Arizona), Myles Rice (Washington State), Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford) and Luke Goode (Illinois) to bolster their roster.
The Big Ten will look significantly different with Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington joining the conference from the Pac-12 to swell league membership to 18. Because of conference realignment and expansion, the Big Ten Tournament will look different, with the bottom three in from the regular-season standings left out of the 15-team bracket.
Here is the full poll, followed by overrated/underrated observations from the predicted order of finish.
Big Ten Preseason Media Poll
Overrated: Purdue
Predicted finish: 1
The Big Ten is wide open, so Purdue is the natural target for the first overrated team because of where they were picked. The Boilermakers won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles and reached their first Final Four since 1980 last season, but this time will be much more difficult to match. Zach Edey, the two-time reigning national player of the year and one of the best college basketball players in the modern era, is no longer with the program. Not having Edey on-or-off the court will be a massive adjustment. Purdue will still be good, and Matt Painter is one of the best coaches in the business, but it would be surprising if Purdue wins the regular season or conference title just because of how deep the Big Ten is.
Underrated: Michigan
Predicted finish: 9
Hiring Dusty May away from FAU was one of the best coaching carousel moves of the offseason. May was a highly sought-after name in the coaching world because of what he did with FAU’s program. May is in a great position to turn the Wolverines back into a Big Ten contender because of what he did in the transfer portal. Michigan added Ohio State’s Roddy Gayle Jr., Yale’s Danny Wolf, Auburn’s Tre Donaldson, Alabama’s Sam Walters, and his former player at FAU, Vladislav Goldin, and added four-star guard Justin Pippen, the son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen via high school recruiting. Michigan (likely) isn’t going to win the Big Ten, but a berth in the NCAA Tournament and a top-five finish in the conference should be on the table in May’s first season.
Overrated: Michigan State
Predicted finish: 5
Michigan State’s streak of 26 consecutive bids to the NCAA Tournament was almost in danger because of the slow start to the 2023-24 season. The Spartans entered Big Ten play with a 9-5 record and finished 10-10 against conference opponents to earn a No. 9 seed in the Big Dance. With the Big Ten expanding to 18 members, Michigan State could hoover around the .500 mark again because of how difficult the schedule is. It wouldn’t be surprising if Oregon, Rutgers, Ohio State, and Michigan — teams projected to finish worse than Michigan State in the preseason poll — leapfrog the Spartans by the end of the season.
Underrated: USC
Predicted finish: 14
The biggest wild card in the Big Ten has to be USC. The Trojans made a splash hire by replacing former coach Andy Enfield with Eric Musselman. Musselman has won at his previous college stops at Nevada and Arkansas, and his new-look roster has a chance to be boom or bust. USC’s roster is primarily made up of transfers, and Xavier‘s Desmond Claude and Northern Colorado‘s Saint Thomas are among the expected key contributors. It’s easy to see why USC would be projected to finish so low because of the lack of returning production, but you can’t rule out Musselman’s group figuring it out and competing for a berth in the NCAA Tournament in his first season.
Preseason All-Big Ten Team
The Big Ten also has released their preseason all-conference team. Purdue star Braden Smith was tabbed the Big Ten preseason Player of the Year. Here is the full team:
Underrated: Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Depending on who you ask, Bailey is either No. 2 or 3 on most 2025 NBA Draft big boards. Bailey has the ideal tools and size to compete at both the college and professional level, and if he lives up to expectations, Rutgers will be playing in the NCAA Tournament. Projecting how productive a true freshman will be is no easy task, but Bailey is a plug-and-play player capable of elevating Rutgers program. It would be very surprising if Bailey isn’t on the All-Big Ten team by season’s end.
Overrated: Dylan Harper, Rutgers
It’s hard to single out any player on this 10-player list, but if any Rutgers player should be on a preseason All-Big Ten team, it’s Bailey. That’s not to say Harper isn’t worthy of such an honor because if you look at most NBA mock drafts, he is a projected (early) lottery pick. Rutgers’ success will hinge on Harper and Bailey living up to the hype, and if they do that, they should be on the All-Big Ten team together. Harper underwent a voluntary procedure on his right knee earlier this summer, but all signs point to him being 100% for the season. Rutgers might have the biggest “boom” or “bust” potential as a team in the conference.
