The Big Ten are undergoing a makeover heading into the 2022-23 season after 15 of the league’s top 20 scorers left the conference last season. Fresh blood might be a good thing for the Big Ten, as none of the league’s nine NCAA Tournament teams advanced past the Sweet 16.
In fact, only two Big Ten teams made it through the first weekend of the Big Dance. This was especially disappointing after the league received acclaim for being on par again. But with a new season just around the corner, new opportunities are looming for the conference to raise its flag over the sport.When UCLA When USC The Big Ten, slated to join the league in the 2024-25 season, will only improve as a basketball conference over the next few years.
By the way, who is that top team? It’s an open-ended question going into the 2022-23 season as a star like Keegan Murray (Iowa) Kofi Cockburn (Iowa), Johnny Davis (Wisconsin) and EJ Liddell (Ohio) is no longer part of the fray.
With hints of the 2022-23 college basketball season just around the corner, let’s take a closer look at the Big Ten’s top stars and their teams.
CBS Sports Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
Trace Jackson-Davis | Center | Indiana
After helping Indiana pull off a five-year NCAA tournament slump last season, Jackson-Davis opted to return for a senior season, sending Indiana’s hype into overdrive. The 6.9-foot big has led the Hoosiers in scoring in each of his three seasons on campus, and last season’s elite shot made him a blocker. The only reason he’s not in the NBA is because he doesn’t have a three-point shooter. Even without adding the perimeter offense to their repertoire this season, they help the Hoosiers make big strides forward last season while terrorizing Big Ten opponents on both ends of the floor.
4 more players to watch
Hunter Dickinson | Sea | Michigan: It’s hard to imagine how Dickinson could improve in many statistically significant ways, but he’ll be even more important to the Wolverines this season than he was a year ago.
Zach Eady | See | Purdue: Now that Purdue’s center hierarchy has been cleared for Eady, it’s time for him to drop Dickinson and Jackson Davis for league rebounding and blocking titles, and potentially scoring titles if his conditioning and foul avoidance permits. I look forward to your challenge.
Chris Murray | Fu | Iowa: 6-8, 215 lbs and with the ability to score in multiple areas, Murray’s versatility poses a problem for all enemy defenses. He’s also a plus defender and a solid contender for Big Ten Player of the Year.
Tyler Wall | Fu | Wisconsin: With Johnny Davis gone, it’s time for Wall to make a name for himself in Wisconsin. The 6-9 forward was a Wisconsin regular last season, averaging 12.9 points on 55.4% shooting in his final 10 games of the season.
CBS Sports Big Ten Preseason Freshman of the Year
Jalen Hood-Schifino | Jalen Hood-Schifino Guard | Indiana
Hood-Schifino’s status is likely to be 26th overall. 2022 Class 247 Sports Ranking Make him the most acclaimed freshman in the league. The 6-5 guard looks like the type of perimeter his playmaker the Hoosiers needed to fully return to national relevance. Indiana coach Mike Woodson likened Hod Schifino to Jason Kidd earlier this month.
CBS Sports Big Ten expected finish order
The Big Ten’s most overrated team
Michigan
Michigan State’s roster includes just 10 scholarship players, and none of the Spartans averaged double digits last season. From the age of six he may not have an all-his conference player on this team unless senior forward Malik Hall, an eight-year-old, makes a significant leap forward. Tom Izzo can still take this team to his NCAA Tournament, but there’s little to suggest the Spartans have improved midway through the Big Ten finishes he’s posted the past two seasons.
The Big Ten’s most underrated team
Iowa
Doubt Fran McCaffrey at your own peril, but he’s only lost one season in the big ten in the last decade. If correct, this team may fall short of established precedents. Such predictions are understandable and routine reactions to Iowa’s loss of Keegan Murray and Jordan Bohannon. But Aaron Uris and Tony Perkins look like they have a good chance of making big strides in the backcourt as Bohannon’s replacements, and Keegan Murray has a literal twin brother named Chris who is a potential player. Their game may not be the same, but Chris is entering the type of breakout season Keegan enjoyed last season. Hawkeyes may not win again as Big Ten Tournament champions, but he has everything it takes to finish in the top tiers of the league again.
CBS Sports’ Big 10 Expert Picks
