The Associated Press released their preseason Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Ranking Poll for the upcoming season. Six Big Ten teams made the cut with another five on the cusp of being ranked.
There were two Big Ten teams in the top 10 with the Purdue Boilermakers entering the season as the No. 1 ranked team and the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines right behind them. The other four Big Ten teams were the No. 12 UCLA Bruins, No. 17 Illinois Fighting Illini, No. 22 Michigan State Spartans and the No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers.
The most drastic changes in the Big Ten come from the Boilermakers moving up 13 ranks to the very top of the poll, but the Spartans fell 15 spots and the Badgers fell 8 spots to the bottom of the rankings.
Michigan State Spartans
The Spartans had led the conference last season with a 17-3 conference record, but lost some of their key players like guards Jaden Akins and Jase Richardson. The loss of talent likely caused the decrease in rankings just like it did for the Badgers.
Purdue Boilermakers
Expectations for Purdue continue to rise as they are viewed as a top contender heading into the season. It will be up to senior guard Braden Smith, senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and the rest of the Boilermakers to prove they can implant their name in history with a Big Ten title.
Michigan Wolverines
Coach Dusty May brought aboard Yaxel Lendeborg from UAB in the transfer portal. Michigan should be a national championship contender.
Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin gave UCLA a hard time in the Big Ten Tournament last season. Greg Gard has a balanced and capable lineup.
UCLA Bruins
Donovan Dent is the superstar who raises this team’s floor, but the supporting cast will determine how high this team’s ceiling is.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Brad Underwood has turned Illinois into an annual top-25 program. The Illini should once again be an NCAA Tournament team.
The others
The Oregon Ducks narrowly missed the cut with 98 votes compared to No. 25 North Carolina’s 104 votes. The other Big Ten teams to receive votes were the Ohio State Buckeyes with 23 votes, Washington Huskies with seven votes, Iowa Buckeyes with six votes and the Indiana Hoosiers with a vote.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Six Big Ten teams make college basketball preseason rankings
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
