Big Ten Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

By Adam Childs | Sep 5, 2019

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 17: Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany presents head coach Tom Izzo the championship trophy after the Michigan State Spartans beat the Michigan Wolverines 65-60 in the championship game of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 28: Zavier Simpson #3 of the Michigan Wolverines drives against Matt Mooney #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 28, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

5. Michigan

No other team in the Big Ten has as many questions marks coming into the season as Michigan does this year. They lost their top three scorers in Jordan Poole, Ignas Brazdeikis, and Charles Matthews and they lost their head coach, John Beilein, who bolted of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Losing the three top scorers will hurt, but the loss of Beilein is a huge blow.

Juwan Howard has some big shoes to fill as he takes the helm of the Wolverines. No matter how well he does, the loss of Beilein is still big. Howard has never been a head coach but came highly recommended because of his time as an assistant with the Miami Heat. He is universally respected and brought name credibility to the program needing to make a big splash.

Will that lead to the Wolverines continuing to be a national power or will they slip back into mediocrity. That is to be seen, but the good news is he does bring back some very talented players in Zavier Simpson, Jon Teske, and Isaiah Livers.

Simpson could be the best ball handler in the conference (yes Cassius Winston is great also), Teske was one of the most underrated big men in the country last year and Livers has flashes of brilliant play last year. Combine that with some talented recruits including Franz Wagner and this team may not drop off as much as people think.

The Wolverines still have enough talent to finish in the top five and could compete for the top spot if Michigan State slips. But there is enough question marks and couple that with a new system and this team could finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten. No other Big Ten team has such a high ceiling and low floor as the Wolverines do.

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