Big Ten Basketball: Iowa rises, Michigan State falls in updated WTE 2024-25 rankings

2. Purdue Boilermakers

With four new teams and many original Big Ten programs reshaping their respective rosters, where does Purdue stand in the first year without Zach Edey? There’s no biggest player departure, as the two-time National Player of the Year (25.2 ppg and 12.2 rpg) is off to the NBA Draft. Plus, starting guard Lance Jones is gone, as well as Big Ten 6th Man of the Year forward Mason Gillis, who is off to Duke.

Yet despite being one of the few teams who didn’t add a single transfer this offseason, the Boilermakers still have plenty of talent left over. They’ll be led by the guard duo of Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, entering their junior seasons. We’ll see how they look without Edey around but they still can be all-league players. 

There are also multiple “breakout” candidates to watch with larger roles available, such as Myles Colvin, Camden Heide, Trey Kaufmann-Renn, and Caleb Furst. Plus, even without  top-40 wing prospect Kanon Catchings, Purdue still has a talented incoming recruiting class, including 7’3 standout center prospect, Daniel Jacobsen.

The continuity and guard talent should be good enough for Purdue to remain a contender in the Big Ten but unless some stars emerge down low, they could have a low enough ceiling where they ultimately fall a few spots in the standings. But a good case can be made that their floor is high enough to remain in the top tier unless several team transfer classes overachieve.