Who are the Big Ten’s top contenders in the 2020-21 college basketball season?
ROSEMONT, Ill. (BVM) — The 2019-20 Big Ten basketball season was one of the most competitive in recent memory. Wisconsin, Maryland and Michigan State tied for first place in the conference’s regular season standings with 14-6 records. The conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis was set to be a competitive and thrilling environment.
After the first two games of the tournament were played, the remainder would be canceled due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. The NCAA Tournament and college athletics as a whole would also be shut down, denying likely 10 to 11 Big Ten teams the opportunity to bring home the conference’s first men’s basketball national championship in two decades.
Despite the unfortunate ending in March, eight months later, college basketball is back. Although the conference graduated some talented seniors as always, the Big Ten is expected to be one of the best leagues in the nation once again. With many returning stars and some highly–touted freshman coming in, the conference should be just as competitive as always. Here is a look at how the Big Ten might shake out this season.
CONTENDERS
Illinois
The Fighting Illini emerged as a threat in the Big Ten last season, and were poised to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013. Illinois is a favorite to win this year’s conference title in large part due to the return of NBA prospect Ayo Dosunmu. Big-man Kofi Cockburn also returns for his sophomore season, as does junior Giorgi Bezhanishvili. While senior guard Trent Frazier will bring experience to the team, Illinois is also bringing an infusion of young talent to the table, headlined by four-star recruit and 2020 Illinois Mr. Basketball, Adam Miller. The Fighting Illini will be tested early in the non-conference schedule with marquee matchups against Duke and Baylor. The key to them winning the Big Ten may come down to a tough multi-week stretch of their schedule in late January and early February, in which Illinois faces Michigan State, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan in four of five contests. Brad Underwood continues to do a fine job in turning around this program, and this could end up being the best team in Champaign, Ill. since 2005.
Iowa
The Hawkeyes bring a lot of experience to the table in the conference, and that is headlined by phenom Luka Garza. Last year’s Big Ten Player of the Year is the favorite for the award again this season, and could easily be the national player of the year as well. Garza’s dominance makes Iowa a conference and national contender, but the team does bring back a handful of talented players beyond the big man. Joe Wieskamp and Connor McCaffery are probably the two most familiar returning faces from last year’s team in the backcourt. But Big Ten fans won’t forget Jordan Bohannon, as the redshirt-senior returns after an injury-marred campaign last year. Iowa will get a couple of good non-conference tune-up games versus North Carolina and in-state rival Iowa State, but the headliner is a matchup with Gonzaga on Dec. 19. Within the conference, Iowa faces a brutal late-season stretch, as they will hit the road for four of five games against Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan, returning home to wrap up the regular season against the Badgers on March 7. If they can come out of that stretch with a winning record, Fran McCaffery’s guys could very well be looking at a regular season Big Ten title.
Wisconsin
Iowa has a lot of returning contributors, but the Badgers may very well be the most experienced team in the conference this season. They also may have been the team impacted the most by college basketball’s shutdown, as Wisconsin reeled off eight straight victories to close the season last winter which earned them a tie of the regular season conference title. In the backcourt, the Badgers return experienced guards in Brad Davison and D’Mitrik Trice. Perhaps their most important contributors come in the front court, with Nate Reuvers and Micah Potter, who were a big part of the eight consecutive wins Wisconsin earned down the stretch. Aleem Ford and Trevor Anderson add more senior experience to this team, while sophomore Tyler Wahl leads a young core of many talented freshmen behind them. The Badgers will do battle with in-state rival Marquette on Dec. 4, and play a couple other intriguing non-conference games against Louisville and Northern Iowa. A Christmas Day game at Michigan State headlines the early part of the conference schedule, with additional road trips to Michigan, Illinois and Iowa looming throughout the year. Wisconsin is always a threat — they have finished in the top four of the regular season conference standings 18 of the last 19 years — and one of Greg Gard’s most talented teams could very well take home the title come March.
Michigan State
You can not talk about Big Ten basketball contenders without including Michigan State. Terrific all-conference guard Cassius Winston is gone, as is big-man Xavier Tillman. However, Tom Izzo still has a solid core of talent in East Lansing, Mich. Juniors Gabe Brown and Aaron Henry are two contributors from past seasons who could be ready to emerge in 2020-21. Marcus Bingham Jr. and Foster Loyer are in the same class as well, and should see more playing time at the Breslin Center this year with Winston and Tillman gone. Perhaps the biggest future star is Rocket Watts, who flashed big-time potential as a freshman scorer last season. Don’t forget that Sparty will also be adding Marquette transfer Joey Hauser, which is a huge boost to the front court. Grad student and longtime Spartan Joshua Langford is back for another year as well, giving Izzo a much needed veteran presence. Michigan State has some pivotal early-season non-conference games against ACC opponents in Notre Dame, Duke and Virginia. That should be enough to get Izzo’s squad ready for the grueling Big Ten schedule each conference member will face. The Spartans catch a break in not having to travel to Illinois or Wisconsin this year, but back-to-back road contests at Rutgers and Ohio State will be a test, sandwiched between matchups at Iowa and at Michigan.
Ohio State
The Buckeyes may be the biggest wild card of this group of contenders, but they also have some of the highest potential. Duane Washington Jr., C.J. Walker and Kyle Young all bring veteran leadership to this team. Sophomore E.J. Liddell will look to take a step forward, along with some of the other youth on the squad. However, Chris Holtmann has taken to the transfer portal to bring in some more experience and talent to this team. That includes Abel Porter from Utah State, Justice Sueing from California and Seth Towns from Harvard. Like Michigan State, the Buckeyes will see a little bit of the ACC in the non-conference with matchups against Notre Dame and North Carolina. While the conference schedule opens relatively soft, Ohio State’s finish to the year will be tough. Road games at Rutgers, and back-to-back at Illinois and Wisconsin conclude January. Within the following month, they will play two games each against Iowa and Michigan State, while also hosting Michigan and matching up against Illinois to close out the season in March. It will be interesting to see how these guys come together in a season unlike any other, and they will not have the experience or cohesion of many of the Big Ten’s top contenders. But if the load of talent they have does find its footing sooner than later, the Buckeyes could very well see their name atop the standings come March.
TEAMS WHO COULD SURPRISE
Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights are not far off from being listed as a contender. They had their best year ever in the Big Ten last season and would have been an NCAA Tournament team for the first time since 1991. Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. headline a talented squad that might just take the Big Ten by surprise this winter.
Michigan
Wolverine staples Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske are gone, and Michigan has just four returning players as a whole this season. One of those is Isaiah Livers who could have opted for the NBA Draft, but will return to Ann Arbor, Mich. Guys like Franz Wagner and Eli Brooks are also back, but for Michigan to contend it would likely take quick growth from their four-player recruiting class, which includes three four-star commits.
Purdue
The Boilermakers are another team that could surprise based on the experience they bring back in a year where continuity will matter. Juniors Aaron Wheeler, Sasha Stefanovic and Trevion Williams all return to form a nice core for Purdue. Matt Painter is one of the best coaches in the league, and will have his young team ready to compete come conference time.
Indiana
The Hoosiers may be a year or two off from really competing for a Big Ten title, but they do have a talented roster that could certainly take them places in 2020-21. Studs Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson return, as does guard Rob Phinisee. A talented incoming freshman class may not contribute a lot right away, but Archie Miller has the future of the program looking up.
Minnesota
The Golden Gophers disappointed last season, and were a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament throughout the winter. Gabe Kalscheur and Marcus Carr return, but big-man Daniel Oturu has left for the NBA. Replacing him will be the team’s biggest challenge, but under Richard Pitino, Minnesota always has a chance at surprising.
Maryland
Only in the Big Ten would there be a potential of 11 teams who could sneak up towards the top spot of the conference. Maryland may be the most questionable team in this section, but they do return Eric Ayala, Aaron Wiggins, and Darryl Morsell. It’s a talented core, but how Mark Turgeon replaces the losses of Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith will be the pivotal question surrounding this team.
REBUILDING YEARS
Penn State
The Nittany Lions were solid last year and another likely NCAA Tournament team. But without Lamar Stephens and after the resignation of former coach Pat Chambers last month, the program seems left to a rebuild.
Nebraska
Year two of the Fred Hoiberg era should go better than the first, but the Cornhuskers are still a ways away from competing in the Big Ten. Several transfers should help the program to a better record this season.
Northwestern
The Wildcats do return experience from last season, but finished just 8-23 overall. We are not that far removed from Northwestern making its long-awaited NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017, but for right now, it seems Chris Collins squad will be waiting a while before they return.
