Where do the Wolverines fall in the rankings?
It’s never too early to look ahead to the Big Ten men’s basketball season and rank the contenders. Now that the dust has (mostly) settled in the transfer portal, we have a much better understanding of what each Big Ten basketball roster looks like. That doesn’t mean the conference picture is any clearer, though, as transfers ran wild this offseason in the conference.
Bart Torvik has kept his ear to the ground this offseason. His website features a 2024-25 projection that ranks every team in college basketball. Where does he have Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines landing?
Somewhat surprisingly, Torvik doesn’t have a single Big Ten team in the top-10 nationally. At the top of the conference is the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers . Despite losing star center Zach Edey, Matt Painter returns the majority of what was a talented backcourt last season. Purdue is also the only program in the Big Ten to not utilize the transfer portal this offseason, an interesting move in this day and age.
Just behind Purdue are the No. 12 UCLA Bruins. We previewed their addition to the conference recently back when Torvik had them ahead of Purdue. Now just behind them, Mick Cronin’s squad is projected to be the best defensive team in the conference and one of the best in the entire country.
After those teams, Torvik has a small gap before the trio of No. 19 Michigan State , No. 22 Indiana and No. 24 USC. The Spartans may be the biggest wild card in the entire conference, as their roster is full of boom-or-bust players. Indiana is arguably the most talented team in the conference, but has a few awkward fits the coaching staff will need to work through. USC is one of the Big Ten teams with essentially a brand new roster, but landed some very good players in the portal.
Torvik then has a cluster of six teams: No. 29 Michigan, No. 32 Northwestern, No. 33 Rutgers , No. 34 Ohio State , No. 37 Wisconsin and No. 38 Nebraska. The Wolverines are behind only USC in projected production from transfers. Northwestern and Nebraska are two of the oldest teams in the country and return tons of minutes, but both lost star players this offseason in Boo Buie and Keisei Tominaga, respectively.
Rutgers, Ohio State and Wisconsin were arguably the hardest hit programs in the Big Ten by transfers out. However, it is worth noting Rutgers has the No. 4 overall high school recruiting class according to 247Sports, as they are bringing in the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked individual recruits in the country.
After the top-11 in the conference, Torvik has another small gap before another group of teams in No. 46 Maryland, No. 48 Washington, No. 49 Oregon and No. 50 Iowa. The Ducks are a large wild card here, as they are awaiting word on if center N’Faly Dante will be granted a medical hardship in order to gain another year of eligibility. If it’s granted, the Ducks would vault up Torvik’s rankings.
Already you can tell the Big Ten projects to be strong this year, as Torvik has 15 teams in the top-50. It’s highly doubtful all 15 make the NCAA Tournament, but it just goes to show the strength and parity of the conference.
Rounding out the bottom of the Big Ten are No. 61 Illinois, No. 70 Minnesota and No. 96 Penn State. Illinois was ravaged by both the NBA Draft and the transfer portal, so its roster will be a shell of what it was last year. Minnesota is the most experienced team in the conference, but has not had the talent to contend. Lastly, Mike Rhoades appears to have a rebuild on his hands in Happy Valley, so Penn State will likely struggle this winter.
The Big Ten as a whole was already going to be a deep conference before the additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. With those four included, the conference projects to be one of the toughest conferences in all of college basketball.
Torvik has Purdue narrowly edging out UCLA. How do you see the men’s basketball season playing out in the Big Ten? Let us know in the comments section below!