Big Ten Basketball: Projecting each team’s key player production for 2021-22

Due to the number of players who entered the transfer portal and changed teams, as well as the number of players who have chosen to take the NCAA up on the extra year of eligibility, Big Ten Basketball, along with every other conference looks different than we thought it would when Baylor was celebrating their 86-70 championship victory over Gonzaga.

With seven teams ranked in the preseason poll to just one team making it past the second round, a case can be made that the Big Ten conference underachieved last season. With the new season about to commence,  chances are the polls will not view the Big Ten as highly in hopes of not making the same mistake, thus opening the door for the Big Ten to overachieve this season.

The Big Ten lost just two members of the All-Big Ten Team, Big Ten Player of the Year Luka Garza and Tournament MVP Ayo Dosunmu. In addition to those award winners moving onto the professional ranks, Maryland guard and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Darryl Morsell has transferred to Marquette.

Off-setting the high profiled departures is the arrival of an ACC All-Freshman selection, a PAC-12 Sixth Man of the Year, a member of the A-10 All-Defense as well as an All-Big East Tournament selection. The departures and arrivals have changed the landscape of the Big Ten and will continue to influence the production of their teammates throughout the season.

Every season the players themselves exceed and fail to meet expectations, and this season will be no different. The question is who will it be and how will it affect their teams.