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Big Ten Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

By Jerran Anderson

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 12: Big Ten logo on the floor before the Big Ten Men's Basketball Final against the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolverines at the Verizon Center on March 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Wolverines won 71-56. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 12: Big Ten logo on the floor before the Big Ten Men's Basketball Final against the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolverines at the Verizon Center on March 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Wolverines won 71-56. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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Big Ten Basketball G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images
Big Ten Basketball G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images /

Big Ten basketball returns after a not-so-stellar performance in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Nine teams took home bids to the NCAA Tournament but as a conference, teams went 8-9 overall with Michigan State falling in the First Four and seven other teams falling in the first two rounds of action.

The conference will have to bounce back in more ways than one, in an attempt to end a 20-year tournament championship drought. With some new faces in the coaching ranks, the potential for that happening remains an open door.

First-year head coach Mike Woodson will have to prove he can hang with the likes of Juwan Howard (Michigan), Brad Underwood (Illinois), and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) but after pulling five returners from Indiana out of the transfer portal, he looks more than prepared for the task.

Head coaches Ben Johnson and Micah Shrewsberry are two other new faces in the coaching ranks that should have his work cut out for them. Johnson with the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Shrewsberry with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Minnesota returns just two players from last year’s rotation after the exit of Richard Pitino.  Penn State returns three players with starting experience and a total of seven players from last year’s squad.

The new faces will have their work cut out for them as a number of squads in the Big Ten basketball ranks return a plethora of experience looking to make their mark on the year with new roles.

So far, it looks like it could be anybody’s conference to win heading into a new season. Here’s a look at the preseason Big Ten basketball rankings heading into the 2021-22 season.

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