2022-23 Big Ten Basketball Preseason Team Rankings

For as long as I can remember, I have consumed an unhealthy amount of college basketball. From growing up with three older brothers and soaking in March Madness in our parents' basement to watching Michigan play Purdue during a family vacation in the mid-aughts to eventually leading the Maize Rage during my senior year of college in Ann Arbor, I have been a fanatical college basketball fan my entire life. It is a hobby that has stressed me out more than I care to admit, brought untold joy to countless mornings, afternoons, evenings, and late nights, forged friendships that will never fade, and given me an outlet during the lowest moments of my life.

Now, after dilly-dallying around internally for the better part of the last decade as to how I could broadcast my thoughts about the invigorating world of college basketball to everyone, anyone, and no one in particular, I have decided to start along this path of creating an outlet for my thoughts, musings, and ramblings. I hope to create a community here where people like me - people who perhaps feel a bit weird for dedicating too much time and energy to watching young men attempting to coerce a 29.5-inch-around leather ball into a metal rim standing 10 feet off a court of wooden panels - find joy and comfort in sharing our impassioned thoughts, opinions, and (sometimes scorching hot) takes.

For now, I am in a race to spew a few of my own takes and thoughts on the upcoming 2022-23 college basketball season before games tip off in earnest this Monday, November 7, 2022 (or today, depending on when I get around to publishing this post). With no further adieu, I present to you my own preliminary predictions for this year's Big Ten Basketball season.

2022-23 B1G Preseason Team Rankings

1. Purdue

While Purdue loses All-Everything big man Trevion Williams and the athletic dynamo that was Jaden Ivey (a 2022 top-5 NBA draft pick to the Detroit Pistons) for the past two seasons, there is no doubt that Zach Edey could be as dominant a force down low as exists across all of college basketball this year. The otherworldly Emperor Snoke lookalike will create massive matchup issues on a nightly basis, and the Boilermakers should have enough complementary pieces on the perimeter in Mason Gillis, Brandon Newman, and Ethan Morton to make up for the uncertainty at the point position.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Braden Smith (Freshman)

G/W - Brandon Newman (Junior)

W - Ethan Morton (Junior)

F - Mason Gillis (Junior)

C - Zach Edey (Junior)

2. Michigan

Much to the dismay of Big Ten fans anywhere and everywhere outside of Ann Arbor, Hunter Dickinson is back for a third season at Michigan, where he figures to once again vie for conference Player of the Year and All-American honors. There will be plenty of challenges for Juwan Howard to solve around his centerpiece, but there figures to be enough talent on the court at all times - including in the head coach's lauded freshman son Jett - to put together a squad that will be competitive deep into March.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Jaelin Llewellyn (5th year)

G - Kobe Bufkin (Sophomore)

W - Jett Howard (Freshman)

W/F - Terrance Williams (Junior)

Hunter Dickinson (Junior)

3. Illinois

The 2021-22 co-Big Ten regular season champions will have a brand new look heading into the 2022-23 season with Kofi Cockburn's dominating ways no longer to be relied upon in Champaign, but coach Brad Underwood has re-stocked the pantry with a couple high-level transfers in Terrence Shannon Jr. (Texas Tech) and Matthew Mayer (Baylor). Chemistry will be a question here, but talent is not.

Projected Starting Lineup:

PG - Skyy Clark (Freshman)

W - Terrence Shannon Jr. (Senior)

W - RJ Melendez (Sophomore)

W - Matthew Mayer (5th year)

C - Coleman Hawkins (Junior)

4. Michigan State

Michigan State was just a couple costly possessions away from shocking Duke and seeing themselves through to the Sweet Sixteen, and many of Tom Izzo's integral pieces are back this season, but depth, size, and physicality (particularly in the frontcourt) look like major hurdles - at least on paper - for the Spartans. A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker will look to lead this squad from the backcourt to an incredible 25th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Izzo.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Tyson Walker (Senior)

G - A.J. Hoggard (Junior)

W - Jaden Akins (Sophomore)

W/F - Malik Hall (Senior)

F/C - Joey Hauser (5th year)

5. Indiana

The odds-on favorite for many media members to win the Big Ten this season, Indiana will be a year older at nearly every position, including at the 5 where All-B1G shoo-in Trayce Jackson-Davis anchors Mike Woodson's cream and crimson hopes. Count me among the skeptics that have a hard time seeing a path for the Hoosiers to improve their conference standing by more than one or two games with essentially the same roster that went 9-11 in conference play last season, however.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Xavier Johnson (5th year)

G - Jalen Hood-Schifino (Freshman)

W - Miller Kopp (5th year)

W/F - Race Thompson (5th year)

C - Trayce Jackson-Davis (Senior)

6. Wisconsin

The surprise 2021-22 co-Big Ten champions will have to fill a massive gap left by lottery pick Johnny Davis should they have any chance to defend their title, but rising sophomore point guard Chucky Hepburn aims to lead the charge. Coach Greg Gard will likely look to his experienced frontcourt duo of senior Tyler Wahl and junior 7-footer Steven Crowl to aid a relatively experienced perimeter while the Badgers employ their patented roughneck slow-it-down-and-scrap-it-up style of play.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Chucky Hepburn (Sophomore)

G - Jahcobi Neath (Senior)

G/W - Jordan Davis (Junior)

W/F - Tyler Wahl (Senior)

C - Steven Crowl (Junior)

7. Iowa

No, your eyes do not deceive you - while the uber-talented Keegan Murray is off to the NBA after being drafted 4th overall by the Sacramento Kings following a breakout sophomore season in Iowa City, identical twin brother Kris Murray returns for the Hawkeyes as a darling breakout candidate in his own right. While I believe too many see Kris's star turn as a foregone conclusion, fourth-year junior Patrick McCaffery (son of 13th-year head coach Fran McCaffery) has the tools to lead this team back to the Big Dance...and perhaps beyond another disappointing first round exit.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Ahron Ulis (Junior)

G - Tony Perkins (Junior)

W - Kris Murray (Junior)

W/F - Patrick McCaffery (RS Junior)

C - Filip Rebraca (5th year)

8. Ohio State

Like many teams across the Big Ten, Ohio State must figure out a way to replace a plethora of scoring, playing time, and leadership following the departures of EJ Liddell and Malaki Branham, along with (and to a lesser extent) Kyle Young, Jamari Wheeler, and Justin Ahrens. Coach Chris Holtmann will likely look to big-bodied junior Zed Key to anchor the post and lead from the inside-out, while incoming transfers Sean McNeil (West Virginia), Tanner Holden (Wright State), and Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State) all figure to play important roles in Columbus.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Bruce Thornton (Freshman)

G - Sean McNeil (5th year)

W - Tanner Holden (Senior)

W - Justice Sueing (5th year)

C - Zed Key (Junior)

9. Maryland

With Mark Turgeon's up-and-down decade-plus tenure officially in the rearview mirror for the Terrapins, a new era has officially dawned under head man Kevin Willard, who has spent the last 12 seasons coaching the Pirates of Seton Hall. The cupboard isn't completely bare in College Park with seniors Hakim Hart (above) and Donta Scott deciding to stick around, but it would be a majore accomplishment to see Maryland finish in the top half of the conference this year.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Jahmir Young (5th year)

G - Don Carey (5th year)

W - Hakim Hart (Senior)

F - Donta Scott (Senior)

F/C - Julian Reese (Sophomore)

10. Rutgers

Coach Steve Pikiell has overseen perhaps the most impressive turnaround of any power conference basketball program in the last decade, but even he will be hard-pressed to avoid a step-back after seeing the accomplished careers of Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker come to an end in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights should once again rely on some hard-nosed defense courtesy of veterans Cliff Omoruyi, Caleb McConnell, and Paul Mulcahy while competing for a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Paul Mulcahy (Senior)

G - Cam Spencer (Senior)

W - Caleb McConnell (5th year)

F - Aundre Hyatt (Senior)

C - Cliff Omoruyi (Junior)

11. Penn State

Second-year head coach Micah Shrewsberry will roll out an old, relatively undersized lineup in the hopes of scrapping it up during a physical conference season, but the talent here is simply not too impressive. The guard-laden lineup sees the addition of Drexel transfer Camren Winter while the frontcourt's inexperience is frightfully inexperienced.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Camren Wynter (5th year)

G - Jalen Pickett (5th year)

G - Myles Dread (5th year)

G/W - Seth Lundy (Senior)

C - Kebba Njie (Freshman)

12. Minnesota

Yet another second year coach, Ben Johnson, will look to lead his Golden Gophers on a leap forward after a promising start to the 2021-22 campaign got ugly quick, eventually ending in a 13-17 overall record and a 4-16 mark in conference play. High-volume scoring forward and one-time George Washington Colonial Jamison Battle poured in double-digit points in all but two contests last year and will undoubtedly welcome the talent of 5-man Dawson Garcia (a native Minnesotan who has played one season each with North Carolina and Marquette) to Minneapolis, but the rest of the roster once again looks relatively barren.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Ta’Lon Cooper (Senior)

G - Taurus Samuels (5th year)

W - Jaden Henley (Freshman)

F - Jamison Battle (Senior)

C - Dawson Garcia (Junior)

13. Northwestern

Entering his 10th season as head coach in Evanston, Chris Collins is still vying for a second Big Dance appearance, and it's hard to see his seat cooling down at all with a roster that is once again uninspiring at best. The Wildcats' best player from last year, Pete Nance, darted to Chapel Hill to suit up for Hubert Davis, and left behind a bevy of upperclassmen who have yet to prove themselves in the Big Ten.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Boo Buie (Senior)

G - Ty Berry (Junior)

G - Chase Audige (Senior)

W - Robbie Beran (Senior)

C - Matthew Nicholson (Junior)

14. Nebraska

I believed wholeheartedly in Fred Hoiberg's homecoming to Lincoln just three seasons ago, but the results to-date have been disastrous, as the Cornhuskers have won an average of just three conference games per year since the 2019-20 season. It might require Hoiberg to bag up some of his old Hilton Magic and bring it west to see this year's version of the Big Red to fare much better.

Projected Starting Lineup:

G - Sam Griesel (5th year)

G/W - Keisei Tominaga (Junior)

W - C.J. Wilcher (Junior)

W/F - Juwan Gary (Junior)

C - Derrick Walker (5th year)