Big Ten Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2022-23 season

8. Wisconsin Badgers

It was fully expected that Big Ten Basketball Player of the Year winner Johnny Davis was heading to the NBA Draft as a projected lottery pick, leaving a big void for the Badgers in the scoring department. Second-leading scorer Brad Davison has also finally departed after what felt like a 10-year career. But the team also lost a pair of forwards in Ben Carlson and Matthew Mors, which hurts the depth insider.

Wisconsin is set to return both Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl, along with starting point guard and breakout candidate Chucky Hepburn. Look for guards Jahcobi Neath and Lorne Bowman to have a much bigger role in the rotation next season but with just three-star shooting guard commit  Connor Essegian part of the incoming freshmen class, this team will have to add multiple players from the portal to round out the roster.

7. Iowa Hawkeyes

It’s the end of Keegan Murray’s career at Iowa after having a breakout campaign, leading Big Ten Basketball with 23.5 ppg this past season, to now entering the NBA Draft. But also gone is the program’s all-time assist leader and three-point shooter Jordan Bohannon, who is also an important loss. Guard Joe Toussaint entered the transfer portal as well, although the Hawkeyes have plenty of guards on the roster capable of getting minutes next year, including Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort.

The key to Iowa’s 2022-23 campaign is how much Keegan’s brother Kris Murray improves. He averaged 9.7 ppg and 4.3 rpg and showed signs of big potential. If he looks anywhere near close to Keegan ad Luka Garza, the team will be back to the NCAA Tournament.