Big Ten Basketball: 10 key questions for the league entering 2021-22 season

Having made it through the past two seasons of college basketball, whether the result was a premature finish or it ended with Baylor celebrating while confetti fell on them from the ceiling, the biggest question was always “is the game going to be played?” As the world continues to combat a pandemic- some more cautiously than others- it is refreshing to once again assume games will be played, even if we do not take it for granted anymore.

Putting COVID protocols aside, the ‘new normal’ in NCAA basketball will include NIL, player transfers, and potential five-star freshman deciding to go to the G-League, and yet the game continues on and we all keep paying attention. For those who have been paying close attention, the anticipation is high, for those that wait until the season begins the questions are plenty.

The question carrying over from last season was, “was Big Ten Basketball overrated”. In the 2020-21 AP preseason poll the conference held seven spots. By the tournament’s end, the conference combined for a total of eight victories, with only Michigan tallying more than one.  The number of teams in the preseason poll is more of the fault of the AP than the Big Ten teams themselves, but needless to say, they did not meet the expectations of others.

A new season brings a new Big Ten with a number of new players and new questions. Questions that go beyond “who will win the regular season?”, “who is the best coach?” or “how many teams will make the tournament?” Teams have concerns and shortcomings and the Big Ten is no exception and the questions raised here are ones that coaches and fans have, which in turn affect the on-court play. For it is the on-court play that will determine the victories, and victories are what is most important.