The Big Ten announced its Big Ten preseason media poll last week, where the Wisconsin Badgers were listed at No. 7 behind the likes of the Purdue Boilermakers, Michigan Wolverines, Illinois Fighting Illini, UCLA Bruins, Oregon Ducks, and the Michigan State Spartans.
Then, the preseason AP Poll was announced on Monday, where Wisconsin came in at No. 24 as the sixth-best team in the Big Ten
, jumping Oregon, which was among the top teams receiving votes.Wisconsin has been underrated in the preseason
poll in the past, being ranked No. 12 last year before a top-five finish and a spot in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. Are they being underrated again in 2025?
Well, we at SB Nation decided to do our Big Ten preseason media poll, where writers from 16 of the 18 teams ranked every Big Ten team, while also providing their All-Big Ten predictions and awards for the season. Here’s how the results went:
Projected Big Ten Standings (first-place votes in parentheses):
- Purdue, 285 (13)
- Michigan, 267 (3)
- Illinois, 238
- UCLA, 236
- Michigan State, 218
- Wisconsin, 202
- Oregon, 201
- Ohio State, 156
- Iowa, 153
- Indiana, 143
- Maryland, 131
- USC, 119
- Washington, 115
- Nebraska, 94
- Northwestern, 63
- Minnesota, 54
- Rutgers, 32
- Penn State, 29
Wisconsin was sixth, in line with how the AP Poll vote went, coming in one spot above Oregon. In fact, the top eight were in lockstep with the AP Poll, which had Oregon and Ohio State as the top two Big Ten teams getting votes outside of the Top 25.
Now, I was only one of 16 voters, and my rankings looked a little different at the top. Here was how I voted:
1ST: Purdue
2ND: Michigan
3RD: Wisconsin
4TH: UCLA
5TH: Illinois
6TH: Iowa
7TH: Washington
8TH: Oregon
9TH: Michigan State
10TH: Indiana
11TH: Ohio State
12TH: Maryland
13TH: Nebraska
14TH: Northwestern
15TH: USC
16TH: Minnesota
17TH: Penn State
18TH: Rutgers
I had Purdue and Michigan atop my poll as well. The Boilermakers are the preseason No. 1 team with a ton of returning talent and good incoming talent.
But, I had Wisconsin and UCLA at No. 3 and No. 4, with Illinois behind them at No. 5. That could look homer-ish, but those on the site know how realistic (and at times brutally honest) I’ve been about the Badgers in recent years.
Wisconsin has a ton of incoming talent, and they’re deep, which bodes very well in the Big Ten. But, more importantly, their philosophy for winning should remain consistent: shots at the rim, good three-point shooting, ball movement, and strong guard defense.
UCLA has returning talent as well with a quality head coach, and they bring in one of the best offensive weapons in college basketball. My issue with the Bruins last year was their lack of a consistent offense. That’s no longer a problem with Donovan Dent, who is one of the best scorers in college basketball.
I’m not as high on Illinois, and that pick is looking better with international point guard Mihailo Petrovic expected to miss some time to start the year. The Fighting Illini have struggled defensively, and they had issues with three-point shooting last year. Apart from Andrej Stojakovic, who still only shot 32 percent from deep last year, that shooting could remain a problem. Because of that, I see them as a streakier team and lower than the consensus has them now.
I’m higher on Iowa because of head coach Ben McCollum, who brought some guys with him from Drake, including preseason All-Big Ten guard Bennett Stirtz. McCollum is a fantastic coach, and his low-paced, grind-out style fits the Big Ten well. I think Iowa will be a much better defensive team, which can win them games in the Big Ten.
Similarly, I’m higher on Washington. Danny Sprinkle’s group was awful last year, but there’s a ton of reinforcements on that team now. Sprinkle brought in USC guards Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates III to bring a scoring punch. Forward depth is there with Jacob Ognacevic and Lathan Sommerville. Zoom Diallo was good as a freshman. And Quimari Peterson could be one of the better players in the conference coming in from East Tennessee State.
But, the X-Factor is freshman Hannes Steinbach, who I’m high on and believe is the difference-maker for Sprinkle this year. I see this team as a fringe top-25 group and a tournament team in 2025.
I have Oregon 8th with their returning duo of Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle. My concern with this team is the depth after losing guards like TJ Bamba and Keeshawn Barthelemy. They’ll be relying on players who haven’t been as productive in previous stops (Sean Stewart, Devon Pryer, Jamari Phillips). I think their floor is good with Dana Altman at the helm, but I’m lower on their ceiling, hence the ranking at No. 8.
Michigan State at ninth is a team that admittedly may be too low, considering it’s a Tom Izzo team. They have a ton of returning talent, including Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Carson Cooper, and Jaxon Kohler as starters. And they have two top-60 freshmen.
But, I think the losses of Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins are big for Michigan State’s offense. Their defense should still be among the country’s best, but they lose depth and may be closer to a .500 Big Ten team than what they were in 2024-25.
Indiana is a big unknown to me under Darian DeVries because of the amount of moving parts on that team. They should be better than they were a year ago, which could put them in the tournament conversation. But, there’s too much to figure out for me to put them higher right now than teams with a bigger floor or what I see as a higher ceiling.
Many have Ohio State higher, but coaching is a significant factor in a conference like the Big Ten, and I’m not sold on Jake Diebler. Yes, they return Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr., and Devin Royal, but they’ve been wildly inconsistent against Dieber. Analytics like this team and the roster definitely looks good, but other factors are holding me back.
Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
Braden Smith, Purdue (12).
Also receiving votes: Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue (2); Donovan Dent, UCLA (1)
I had Smith here. He won it a year ago and is in line to win it again.
Big Ten Freshman of the Year
Kayden Mingo, Penn State (3).
Also receiving votes: Hannes Steinbach, Washington, Trey McKenney, Michigan (2); Darius Adams, Maryland, Daniel Jacobsen, Purdue, Omer Mayer, Purdue, Cam Ward, Michigan State, Winters Grady, Michigan, Cooper Koch, Iowa, C.J. Cox, Purdue (1).
I had Steinbach here, who got two votes in the poll. As mentioned above, I’m very high on the international big man. He looked great in the offseason on the World Cup stage, and should play a big role for Washington.
Big Ten Transfer of the Year
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan & Bennett Stirtz, Iowa (4) – TIE
Also receiving votes: Donovan Dent, UCLA (3); Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois (2); Oscar Cluff, Purdue (1)
I had Lendeborg here. I just felt he would have the biggest role on his respective team in that system. Michigan bigs have done really well, and he’s the go-to guy for the Wolverines, who should be a good team in the conference. But, Stirtz and Dent are solid options as well.
“Sleeper” Big Ten Team
Washington Huskies (3)
Also receiving votes: Iowa, Oregon, Maryland (2); Northwestern, Wisconsin, Illinois, UCLA, Ohio State, USC
If you couldn’t tell from my rankings, I had the Huskies here. Think they’ll have a good year. You could’ve put Wisconsin, but I don’t consider a top-25 team a ‘sleeper’, so I didn’t.
First-team All-Big Ten
(Bold=unanimous selection)
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Blackwell, Wisconsin
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Second-team All-Big Ten
Donovan Dent, UCLA
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois
Also receiving votes: Jackson Shelstad (Oregon), Andrej Stojakovic (Illinois), Chad Baker-Mazara (USC), Tyler Bilodeau (UCLA), Coen Carr (Michigan State), Elliot Cadeau (Michigan), Tucker DeVries (Indiana), Pharrel Payne (Maryland), Skyy Clark (UCLA), Wesley Yates III (Washington), Rodney Rice (USC), Rienk Mast (Nebraska), L.J. Cason (Michigan), Kylan Boswell (Illinois), Mihailo Petrovic (Illinois), Connor Essegian (Nebraska), Fletcher Loyer (Purdue), Kaleb Glenn (Michigan State)
Here was my first team:
Braden Smith
Trey Kauffman-Renn
Yaxel Lendeborg
John Blackwell
Donovan Dent
Here was my second team:
Bennett Stirtz
Jackson Shelstad
Tucker DeVries
Bruce Thornton
Nick Martinelli
This is an individual award, but team winning does factor in a bit for me. I think Smith and Kaufmann-Renn will have high-volume roles on the best team in the conference, putting them in line to repeat as first-teamers.
I’m high on Lendeborg, who had first-round buzz this summer before returning to college. He’s an efficient scorer who can do it all offensively and should be on a top Big Ten team.
Similarly, I think John Blackwell takes the step as Wisconsin’s go-to scorer. Playing more off-the-ball should improve his efficiency from deep with catch-and-shoots, and he could be a 17-18 point scorer for a top team in the Big Ten while providing good on-ball defense.
Donovan Dent is a high-octane scorer on another top Big Ten team. He got paid handsomely (and deservedly so) to be the guy for UCLA, which is what they lacked a year ago.
Stirtz was in the conversation for me as a first-teamer but just missed the cut. He should be a high-volume, efficient scorer for a good Iowa team, and is a preseason All-Big Ten player.
Shelstad made the second team a year ago with big man Nate Bittle. With less depth and scoring on that team, he may need to see an increased role offensively, which should give him good numbers to be in the conversation for second team once again.
Tucker DeVries and Bruce Thornton are high-volume first options on mid-tier Big Ten teams, while Nick Martinelli’s volume could increase even more on a worse Northwestern team.
Ultimately, I’m higher on Wisconsin than the consensus, seeing them around the 15th-best team in the country at the moment. We’ll see how things go early in the season with a test at BYU, followed by a tough month of basketball.
Buckle up!
