College Basketball Analyst Releases 2024-25 Big Ten Preseason Power Rankings
Is Purdue capable of winning a third straight Big Ten regular season title? College basketball analyst Jon Rothstein thinks that, even with the departure of Zach Edey, Lance Jones and Mason Gillis, the Boilermakers are the best team in the conference entering the 2024-25 campaign.
Rothstein recently released his preseason Big Ten power rankings for the upcoming season. He doesn't anticipate Purdue having much of a drop-off from last year's national runner-up squad, which finished with a 34-5 record. The college basketball insider has the Boilers in the top spot in his early rankings.
Although Matt Painter's team lost a lot, there's still a ton of returning talent. The Boilermakers bring back a starting backcourt of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, as well as post player Trey Kaufman-Renn. Purdue also expects players like Myles Colvin, Cam Heide and Caleb Furst to make significant strides this coming year.
Further south, Rothstein has Indiana tabbed as the second-best team in the league heading into the 2024-25 season. The Hoosiers return Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau, Trey Galloway and Gabe Cupps from last year's squad. Mike Woodson also did great work in the transfer portal, adding Oumar Ballo (Arizona), Luke Goode (Illinois), Myles Rice (Washington State) and Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford).
Here's how Rothstein has ranked all 18 Big Ten teams heading into the 2024-25 season:
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Indiana Hoosiers
- UCLA Bruins
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Oregon Ducks
- Maryland Terrapins
- Michigan State Spartans
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Michigan Wolverines
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Northwestern Wildcats
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- USC Trojans
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Washington Huskies
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
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DUSTIN SCHUTTE