2024–25 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season

The 2024–25 Big Ten men's basketball season will be the season for Big Ten Conference basketball teams that will began with practices in October 2024, followed by the start of the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2024. The regular season will end in March of 2025.

2024–25 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Number of teams	18
TV partner(s)	Big Ten Network, Fox, FS1, CBS, Peacock
2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Tournament

2024–25 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Illinois	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
No. 17 Indiana	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Iowa	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Maryland	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Michigan	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Michigan State	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Minnesota	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Nebraska	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Northwestern	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Ohio State	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Oregon	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Penn State	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
No. 14 Purdue	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
No. 25 Rutgers	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
No. 22 UCLA	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
USC	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Washington	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Wisconsin	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
† 2025 Big Ten tournament winner As of November 5, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll

The season will be the conference's first with 18 teams as four schools, Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington, joined the conference in 2024.^[1] The conference announced that all teams will play 20 regular season conference games with each school playing seven opponents only at home and seven others only on the road.^[2] Each team will play a home-and-home with three opposing schools.^[3] However, only 15 of the 18 teams will qualify for the Big Ten tournament.^[4]

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Michigan

On March 15, 2024, Michigan fired head coach Juwan Howard after finishing the 2023–24 season with an 8–24 record.^[5] On March 24, the school named Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May the team's new head coach.^[6]

Ohio State

On February 15, Ohio State fired Chris Holtmann.^[7] The school named associate head coach Jake Diebler the team's interim head coach.^[8] Following the completion of the Big Ten Tournament, the school named Diebler the team's new head coach after finishing the season with a 6–2 record as interim coach.^[9]

USC

On April 1, USC head coach Andy Enfield left the school to take the head coaching position at SMU.^[10] On April 4, the school named Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman the team's new head coach.^[11]

Washington

On March 8, Washington fired head coach Mike Hopkins after seven seasons.^[12] On March 25, the school named Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle the team's new head coach.^[13]

Coaches

Team	Head coach	Previous job	Years at school	Overall record	Big Ten record	Big Ten titles	Big Ten tournament titles	NCAA Tournaments	NCAA Final Fours	NCAA Championships
Illinois	Brad Underwood	Oklahoma State	8	132–88 (.600)	80–58 (.580)	1	2	4	0	0
Indiana	Mike Woodson	New York Knicks (Asst.)	4	63–40 (.612)	31–29 (.517)	0	0	2	0	0
Iowa	Fran McCaffery	Siena	15	282–191 (.596)	136–128 (.515)	0	1	7	0	0
Maryland	Kevin Willard	Seton Hall	2	38–30 (.559)	18–22 (.450)	0	0	1	0	0
Michigan	Dusty May	Florida Atlantic	1	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)	0	0	0	0	0
Michigan State	Tom Izzo	Michigan State (Asst.)	30	707–295 (.706)	342–170 (.668)	10	6	26	8	1
Minnesota	Ben Johnson	Xavier (Asst.)	4	41–57 (.418)	15–44 (.254)	0	0	0	0	0
Nebraska	Fred Hoiberg	Chicago Bulls	6	40–83 (.325)	18–61 (.228)	0	0	1	0	0
Northwestern	Chris Collins	Duke (Asst.)	12	177–174 (.504)	80–127 (.386)	0	0	3	0	0
Ohio State	Jake Diebler	Ohio State (Assoc.)	2	8–3 (.727)	5–1 (.833)	0	0	0	0	0
Oregon	Dana Altman	Creighton	15	345–152 (.694)	0–0 (–)	0	0	8	1	0
Penn State	Mike Rhoades	VCU	2	16–17 (.485)	9–11 (.450)	0	0	0	0	0
Purdue	Matt Painter	Purdue (Assoc.)	20	403–201 (.667)	209–120 (.635)	5	2	14	1	0
Rutgers	Steve Pikiell	Stony Brook	9	122–124 (.496)	63–73 (.463)	0	0	2	0	0
UCLA	Mick Cronin	Cincinnati	6	115–53 (.685)	0–0 (–)	0	0	3	1	0
USC	Eric Musselman	Arkansas	1	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)	0	0	0	0	0
Washington	Danny Sprinkle	Utah State	1	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)	0	0	0	0	0
Wisconsin	Greg Gard	Wisconsin (Assoc.)	10	186–107 (.635)	101–70 (.591)	2	0	6	0	0

Notes:

• All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
• Year at school includes 2024–25 season.
• Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school only and are through the beginning of the season.

Preseason

Preseason Big Ten poll

The Big Ten Media poll was released on October 2, 2024.^[14]

Rank	Team
1	Purdue
2	Indiana
3	UCLA
4	Illinois
5	Michigan State
6	Oregon
7	Rutgers
8	Ohio State
9	Michigan
10	Maryland
11	Iowa
12	Nebraska
	Wisconsin
14	USC
15	Washington
16	Northwestern
17	Penn State
18	Minnesota

Preseason All-Big Ten

A select media panel named a preseason All-Big Ten team and player of the year.^[15]

Honor	Recipient
Preseason Player of the Year	Braden Smith, Purdue
Preseason All-Big Ten Team	Oumar Ballo, Indiana
	Payton Sandfort, Iowa
	Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
	Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern
	Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
	Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
	Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
	Braden Smith, Purdue
	Dylan Harper, Rutgers
	Great Osobor, Washington

Preseason All-American teams

Player	AP[16]
Braden Smith	9т
Ace Bailey	13т

Preseason national polls

Main article: 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season § Pre-season polls

	AP[17]	Blue Ribbon Yearbook[18]	CBS Sports[19]	Coaches[20]	ESPN[21]	FOX Sports[22]	Lindy's Sports[23]	Sporting News[24]	Sports Illustrated[25]
Illinois		17		24		25	21	22	21
Indiana	17	14	18	18	18	16	15	18	26
Iowa									40
Maryland									43
Michigan									41
Michigan State							26		36
Minnesota									84
Nebraska									63
Northwestern									54
Ohio State			15				22		34
Oregon							30		29
Penn State									61
Purdue	14	22	12	13	16	14	17	6	14
Rutgers	25		23		25		35	25	32
UCLA	22		19	22	24	17	19	17	30
USC							37		48
Washington							33		65
Wisconsin									68

Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.

Player	Wooden[26]	Naismith[27]	Naismith DPOY	Robertson	Cousy[28]	West[29]	Erving [30]	Malone[31]	Abdul-Jabbar [32]
Ace Bailey, Rutgers		Y					Y
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State		Y			Y
Oumar Ballo, Indiana		Y							Y
Frankie Fidler, Michigan State							Y
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota		Y							Y
Vladislav Goldin, Michigan									Y
Dylan Harper, Rutgers		Y			Y
Meechie Johnson Jr., Ohio State						Y
William Kyle III, UCLA									Y
Fletcher Loyer, Purdue						Y
Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana							Y
Great Osobor, Washington		Y						Y
Derik Queen, Maryland									Y
Julian Reese, Maryland								Y
Malik Reneau, Indiana								Y
Myles Rice, Indiana					Y
Will Riley, Illinois								Y
Payton Sandfort, Iowa		Y					Y
Jackson Shelstad, Oregon		Y
Braden Smith, Purdue		Y			Y
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State		Y			Y

Regular season

Early season tournaments

Of the 18 Big Ten teams, 15 will participate in early season tournaments.^[33]

Team	Tournament	Finish
Iowa	Hall of Fame Classic
Indiana	Battle 4 Atlantis
Maryland	Empire Classic
Michigan	Fort Myers Tip-Off
Michigan State	Maui Invitational
Minnesota	ESPN Events Invitational
Nebraska	Diamond Head Classic
Northwestern	Arizona Tip-Off
Oregon	Players Era Festival
Penn State	Sunshine Slam
Purdue	Rady Children's Invitational
Rutgers	Players Era Festival
USC	Acrisure Classic
Washington	Acrisure Invitational
Wisconsin	Greenbrier Tip-Off

Postseason

Big Ten tournament

Although the conference grew by four teams, it has allotted only one additional spot for the conference tournament – meaning three teams will not qualify for the tournament. The tournament will still be over five days, with double byes for the top four seeds, and single byes for the next five seeds.^[34]

References

1. "Big Ten expanding to 18 teams with Oregon and Washington". NBC4 WCMH-TV. August 4, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
2. Dochterman, Scott; Moore, C. J. "Big Ten basketball schedules revealed: How will conference matchups work with 18 teams?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
3. "Expanded Big Ten reveals men's basketball opponents. Here's where IU and Purdue are headed next year". wthr.com. May 2, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
4. "Expanded Big Ten basketball tourneys will only include 15 of league's 18 teams". Chicago Sun-Times. January 30, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
5. "Michigan fires coach Howard after 8-24 season". ESPN.com. March 15, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
6. "Michigan names Florida Atlantic's Dusty May new basketball coach - CBS Detroit". www.cbsnews.com. March 24, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
7. Borzello, Jeff (February 14, 2024). "Ohio St. fires men's basketball coach Holtmann". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
8. "Ohio State fires Chris Holtmann: Buckeyes basketball coach dismissed in midst of seventh season". CBSSports.com. February 14, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
9. Peters, Andrew. "Ohio State Men's CBB Hires Jake Diebler as HC After Going 6-2 as Interim Coach". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
10. "SMU hires Andy Enfield: USC coach leaves Trojans after 11 seasons to lead Mustangs into ACC era". CBSSports.com. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
11. "USC tabs Arkansas' Musselman to replace Enfield". ESPN.com. April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
12. "Hopkins out as coach at Washington after season". ESPN.com. March 8, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
13. "Washington hires Danny Sprinkle: Utah State coach leaving for Huskies after leading Aggies to NCAA Tournament". CBSSports.com. March 25, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
14. "Big Ten basketball preseason media poll: Can Purdue repeat again? Will IU challenge?".
15. "Purdue's Braden Smith Named Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year".
16. Associated Press (October 21, 2024). "Men's Preseason All-America Team". AP News. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
17. "NCAA College Basketball Rankings: AP Top 25 Basketball Poll". AP News. October 14, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
18. Dortch, Chris (September 28, 2024). "Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook's Preseason Top 25". Blue Ribbon Report. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
19. "College Basketball Rankings: Kansas sits at No. 1 in Top 25 and 1 as 2024-25 season tips off Monday". CBSSports.com. November 4, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
20. "NCAA Men's College Basketball Coaches Poll | USA Today Sports". USA TODAY. October 23, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
21. Borzello, Jeff (September 9, 2024). "2024-25 men's NCAA basketball rankings: Way-Too-Early Top 25". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
22. "College basketball rankings: Kansas, UConn, Alabama sit atop preseason top 25". FOX Sports. October 13, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
23. Bozich, Alex (September 13, 2024). "Indiana picked to win the Big Ten by Lindy's Sports". Inside the Hall | Indiana Hoosiers Basketball News, Recruiting and Analysis. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
24. DeCourcy, Mike (November 4, 2024). "College basketball rankings 2024-25: Alabama, Houston, Duke lead Sporting News preseason Top 25 | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
25. Sweeney, Kevin (October 28, 2024). "Sports Illustrated's Complete Men's College Basketball Rankings, From No. 1 Alabama to No. 364 Miss. Valley State". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
26. "JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD PRESENTED BY PRINCIPAL ANNOUNCES 2023-24 PRESEASON TOP 50 WATCH LIST".
27. "2024-25 Jersey Mike's Naismith Men's Player of the Year Watch List, Presented by AXIA Time". October 30, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
28. "NAISMITH BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES PRESEASON WATCH LIST FOR THE 2025 MEN'S AND WOMEN'S POINT GUARD OF THE YEAR AWARDS". www.hoophall.com. October 28, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
29. "NAISMITH BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES PRESEASON WATCH LIST FOR THE 2025 MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SHOOTING GUARD OF THE YEAR AWARDS". www.hoophall.com. October 29, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
30. "NAISMITH BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES THE PRESEASON WATCH LIST FOR THE 2025 MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SMALL FORWARD OF THE YEAR AWARDS". October 30, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
31. "NAISMITH BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES THE PRESEASON WATCH LIST FOR THE 2025 MEN'S AND WOMEN'S POWER FORWARD OF THE YEAR AWARDS". October 31, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
32. "NAISMITH BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES THE PRESEASON WATCH LIST FOR THE 2025 MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CENTER OF THE YEAR AWARD". November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
33. ChrisDobbertean (May 13, 2024). "2024-25 Men's College Basketball Exempt Multi-Team Events (MTEs) Tracker". Blogging the Bracket. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
34. Shaw, Justin (January 30, 2024). "Addition of four news teams will create only one additional spot in Big Ten Tournament". SportsTravelMagazine.com. Retrieved September 9, 2024.