Big Ten Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2017-18

It’s July, but it’s never too early to take a look at how the conferences will shake out.

Last season, the Big Ten didn’t get much love nationally. No team was seeded higher than No. 5 in the NCAA Tournament, but expect this year to be different. The conference has the momentum of the deep runs of Wisconsin and Michigan in the NCAA tournament and returns some of the best players in the country, not just the Big Ten.

1. Minnesota 

No, it’s not a typo. Under Richard Pitino a season ago, the Gophers finally made a big-time jump, finishing 24-10 after going 8-23 in 2015-2016. Minnesota brings back almost every key player from last season’s squad. Five of the team’s top six scorers are returning, including leading scorer Nate Mason who averaged more than 15 a game and second-leading Amir Coffey who scored better than 12 points per game as a freshman.

2. Michigan State 

It was no doubt a down season for Sparty in 2016-2017, but Miles Bridges is back and, with him back, all things are possible. Bridges averaged 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in his freshman campaign, and I’d be shocked if he wasn’t Big Ten Player of the Year this season. With Bridges’ high-flying dunks and explosive scoring ability, people outside of East Lansing forgot about Nick Ward, a 6-foot-8 beast who averaged 13.9 points and more than six rebounds. The Spartans return two of the best players in the conference, and that’s all Tom Izzo needs.