The Big Ten spent much of last season making a convincing argument as the best conference in college basketball.
Michigan cut down the nets as national champion. Illinois reached the Final Four. Michigan State advanced to the Sweet 16. Purdue, Iowa and Nebraska all made significant postseason runs. Week after week, the conference proved it had both elite teams at the top and dangerous depth throughout the standings.
Now comes the difficult part.
Replacing nearly an entire generation of stars.
Braden Smith is gone. Donovan Dent is gone. Keaton Wagler is gone. John Blackwell is gone. Bennett Stirtz is gone. Some headed to the NBA while others exhausted their eligibility, leaving behind one of the most dramatic talent resets the conference has seen in years.
That turnover has created something fans love: uncertainty.
For the first time in a while, there doesn't appear to be a runaway favorite. There are contenders, certainly, but every team at the top has real questions attached to it.
The outlook
The Illini return Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic and the Ivisic brothers from a Final Four team while adding transfer guard Stefan Vaaks to help fill the void left by Keaton Wagler. Illinois has size, shooting and experience. On paper, it is the most complete roster in the league.
Michigan is trying to do something even harder than winning a national title: defending one.
Dusty May lost a significant amount of NBA-level talent, but the Wolverines still have Elliot Cadeau, Trey McKenney and one of the most intriguing frontcourts in the conference. Nobody should be surprised if Michigan is right back in the Big Ten title hunt, but expecting another 37-win season is asking a lot.
Then there is Michigan State.
Tom Izzo's teams rarely beat themselves, and this group once again looks loaded with depth. Jeremy Fears Jr. could be the best point guard in the conference, and the Spartans have enough athletes and shooters to remain a threat all season. The biggest question is whether a rebuilt frontcourt can hold up against the league's elite teams.
Those three programs have created early separation from the rest of the conference.
What's left?
That doesn't mean there won't be challengers.
USC may have assembled one of the most talented rosters in the league. Indiana completely rebuilt around Markus Burton and one of the biggest frontcourts in college basketball. Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio State and Purdue all have enough talent to spend time in the Top 25.
The difference between this season and last season is simple.
A year ago, many of the conference's biggest stars were already established.
This year, the Big Ten is searching for its next generation.
Who becomes the league's best player? Which transfer turns into an All-American? Which freshman becomes a household name by February?
Those answers will ultimately decide who wins the conference.
For now, however, the race appears to belong to Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State.
Everyone else is chasing.
In the end
The Big Ten may not have the same star power it had a season ago, but it still has something every great conference needs: legitimate contenders and plenty of intrigue. With so many new faces stepping into major roles, the road to a conference championship feels more open than ever. That should make for one of the most fascinating races in college basketball.
Add us as a preferred source on Google