Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big Ten Basketball: Top 10 returning players for 2018-19

By Jerran Anderson

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - FEBRUARY 18: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers dunks the ball against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Mackey Arena on February 18, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - FEBRUARY 18: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers dunks the ball against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Mackey Arena on February 18, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 11
Next
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images /

Big Ten Basketball saw four teams in last season’s NCAA Tournament. In 2018-19, that number could rise with tons of experience returning. Who are the best 10 coming back.

The Big Ten Conference didn’t have a lot of teams selected to the NCAA Tournament but it gave the Michigan Wolverines all the fuel they needed to make a run to the Final Four. The Wolverines won a school history 33 games this past season. They fell short in the NCAA championship game to the Villanova Wildcats but they’ll be back with talent returning.

Zavier Simpson is a rising junior to keep an eye on after a solid sophomore campaign. He put up 7.3 points, 3.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game through 41 appearances in 2017-18. Simpson started in just 29 of those contests, a number that should rise this upcoming season.

Michigan won’t be the only team returning top talent, either. The Iowa Hawkeyes will be one team to watch after a down season. 6-foot-9 forward Tyler Cook will be back for his junior season. Cook produced 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest last season as a sophomore.

Michigan State lost a lot of talent to the NBA, but the return of upperclassman Nick Ward should lessen the blow. Ward averaged 12.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest during his sophomore season. Those are just a few of the honorable mention selections of the top players returning in the Big Ten. Here’s a look at the top 10 returning players in 2018-19.

Home/Big Ten