2024–25 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season

2024–25 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Number of teams18
TV partner(s)Big Ten Network, Fox, FS1, CBS, Peacock
2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Tournament
Basketball seasons
2025–26 →
2024–25 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 20 Michigan State 2 – 0   1.000 10 – 2   .833
No. 18 UCLA 2 – 0   1.000 10 – 2   .833
No. 24 Michigan 2 – 0   1.000 8 – 3   .727
No. 10 Oregon 1 – 1   .500 11 – 1   .917
Maryland 1 – 1   .500 10 – 2   .833
Penn State 1 – 1   .500 10 – 2   .833
Nebraska 1 – 1   .500 7 – 2   .778
Indiana 1 – 1   .500 9 – 3   .750
Iowa 1 – 1   .500 9 – 3   .750
Northwestern 1 – 1   .500 9 – 3   .750
Illinois 1 – 1   .500 7 – 3   .700
Ohio State 1 – 1   .500 8 – 4   .667
No. 16 Purdue 1 – 1   .500 8 – 4   .667
USC 1 – 1   .500 8 – 4   .667
Rutgers 1 – 1   .500 7 – 5   .583
Wisconsin 0 – 2   .000 9 – 3   .750
Washington 0 – 2   .000 8 – 3   .727
Minnesota 0 – 2   .000 7 – 5   .583
† 2025 Big Ten tournament winner
As of December 21, 2024
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2024–25 Big Ten men's basketball season is the current season for the Big Ten Conference basketball teams that began with practices in October 2024, followed by the start of the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2024. The regular season will end in March of 2025.

The season is the conference's first with 18 teams as four schools, Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington, joined the conference in 2024.[1] The conference announced that all teams will play 20 regular season conference games with each school playing seven opponents only at home and seven others only on the road.[2] Each team will play a home-and-home with three opposing schools.[3] However, only 15 of the 18 teams will qualify for the Big Ten tournament.[4]

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Michigan

On March 15, 2024, Michigan fired head coach Juwan Howard after finishing the 2023–24 season with an 8–24 record.[5] On March 24, the school named Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May the team's new head coach.[6]

Ohio State

On February 15, Ohio State fired Chris Holtmann.[7] The school named associate head coach Jake Diebler the team's interim head coach.[8] Following the completion of the Big Ten Tournament, the school named Diebler the team's new head coach after finishing the season with a 6–2 record as interim coach.[9]

USC

On April 1, USC head coach Andy Enfield left the school to take the head coaching position at SMU.[10] On April 4, the school named Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman the team's new head coach.[11]

Washington

On March 8, Washington fired head coach Mike Hopkins after seven seasons.[12] On March 25, the school named Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle the team's new head coach.[13]

Coaches

Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Big Ten record Big Ten titles Big Ten tournament titles NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA Championships
Illinois Brad Underwood Oklahoma State 8 132–88 (.600) 80–58 (.580) 1 2 4 0 0
Indiana Mike Woodson New York Knicks (Asst.) 4 63–40 (.612) 31–29 (.517) 0 0 2 0 0
Iowa Fran McCaffery Siena 15 282–191 (.596) 136–128 (.515) 0 1 7 0 0
Maryland Kevin Willard Seton Hall 2 38–30 (.559) 18–22 (.450) 0 0 1 0 0
Michigan Dusty May Florida Atlantic 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0
Michigan State Tom Izzo Michigan State (Asst.) 30 707–295 (.706) 342–170 (.668) 10 6 26 8 1
Minnesota Ben Johnson Xavier (Asst.) 4 41–57 (.418) 15–44 (.254) 0 0 0 0 0
Nebraska Fred Hoiberg Chicago Bulls 6 40–83 (.325) 18–61 (.228) 0 0 1 0 0
Northwestern Chris Collins Duke (Asst.) 12 177–174 (.504) 80–127 (.386) 0 0 3 0 0
Ohio State Jake Diebler Ohio State (Assoc.) 2 8–3 (.727) 5–1 (.833) 0 0 0 0 0
Oregon Dana Altman Creighton 15 345–152 (.694) 0–0 (–) 0 0 8 1 0
Penn State Mike Rhoades VCU 2 16–17 (.485) 9–11 (.450) 0 0 0 0 0
Purdue Matt Painter Purdue (Assoc.) 20 403–201 (.667) 209–120 (.635) 5 2 14 1 0
Rutgers Steve Pikiell Stony Brook 9 122–124 (.496) 63–73 (.463) 0 0 2 0 0
UCLA Mick Cronin Cincinnati 6 115–53 (.685) 0–0 (–) 0 0 3 1 0
USC Eric Musselman Arkansas 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0
Washington Danny Sprinkle Utah State 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0
Wisconsin Greg Gard Wisconsin (Assoc.) 10 186–107 (.635) 101–70 (.591) 2 0 6 0 0

Notes:

  • All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
  • Year at school includes 2024–25 season.
  • Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school only and are through the beginning of the season.

Preseason

Preseason Big Ten poll

The Big Ten Media poll was released on October 2, 2024.[14]

Rank Team
1 Purdue
2 Indiana
3 UCLA
4 Illinois
5 Michigan State
6 Oregon
7 Rutgers
8 Ohio State
9 Michigan
10 Maryland
11 Iowa
12 Nebraska
Wisconsin
14 USC
15 Washington
16 Northwestern
17 Penn State
18 Minnesota

Preseason All-Big Ten

A select media panel named a preseason All-Big Ten team and player of the year.[15]

Honor Recipient
Preseason Player of the Year Braden Smith, Purdue
Preseason All-Big Ten Team Oumar Ballo, Indiana
Payton Sandfort, Iowa
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Braden Smith, Purdue
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Great Osobor, Washington


Preseason national polls

Main article: 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season § Pre-season polls
AP[16] Blue Ribbon
Yearbook[17] 		CBS Sports[18] Coaches[19] ESPN[20] FOX Sports[21] Lindy's
Sports[22] 		Sporting News[23] Sports Illustrated[24]
Illinois 17 24 25 21 22 21
Indiana 17 14 18 18 18 16 15 18 26
Iowa 40
Maryland 43
Michigan 41
Michigan State 26 36
Minnesota 84
Nebraska 63
Northwestern 54
Ohio State 15 22 34
Oregon 30 29
Penn State 61
Purdue 14 22 12 13 16 14 17 6 14
Rutgers 25 23 25 35 25 32
UCLA 22 19 22 24 17 19 17 30
USC 37 48
Washington 33 65
Wisconsin 68

Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.

Player Wooden[25] Naismith[26] Naismith DPOY Robertson Cousy[27] West[28] Erving [29] Malone[30] Abdul-Jabbar [31]
Ace Bailey, Rutgers Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Oumar Ballo, Indiana Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Frankie Fidler, Michigan State Green tickY
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Vladislav Goldin, Michigan Green tickY
Dylan Harper, Rutgers Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Meechie Johnson Jr., Ohio State Green tickY
William Kyle III, UCLA Green tickY
Fletcher Loyer, Purdue Green tickY
Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana Green tickY
Great Osobor, Washington Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Derik Queen, Maryland Green tickY
Julian Reese, Maryland Green tickY
Malik Reneau, Indiana Green tickY
Myles Rice, Indiana Green tickY
Will Riley, Illinois Green tickY
Payton Sandfort, Iowa Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Jackson Shelstad, Oregon Green tickY
Braden Smith, Purdue Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY

Regular season

Rankings

See also: 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
(Italics) Number of first place votes
  Pre/
Wk 1		 Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Wk
14		 Wk
15		 Wk
16		 Wk
17		 Wk
18		 Wk
19		 Wk
20		 Final
Illinois AP RV RV 25 RV 19 RV RV
C 24 20 20 RV 17 RV RV
Indiana AP 17 16 16 14 RV RV RV
C 18 16 18 14 RV
Iowa AP
C
Maryland AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV
Michigan AP RV RV RV RV 14 24
C 23 14 21
Michigan State AP RV RV RV RV RV 21 20
C RV RV RV RV 25 19 19
Minnesota AP
C
Nebraska AP RV RV
C RV RV
Northwestern AP
C
Ohio State AP RV 21 RV RV RV
C RV 22 RV RV RV
Oregon AP RV RV RV 12 12 10
C RV RV RV RV 10 12 10
Penn State AP RV RV RV RV
C RV RV RV
Purdue AP 14 13 6 13 8 11 16
C 13 12 6 12 7 11 17
Rutgers AP 25 24 24
C RV 24 RV RV
UCLA AP 22 RV RV 24 18
C 22 RV RV RV 21 18
USC AP
C
Washington AP
C
Wisconsin AP RV RV 19 15 11 20 RV
C RV 25 17 11 22 RV

Players of the week

Throughout the conference regular season, the Big Ten offices will name one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday.

Week Player of the week Freshman of the week
November 11, 2024[32] Nick Martinelli, Northwestern Will Riley, Illinois
November 18, 2024[33] John Tonje, Wisconsin Dylan Harper, Rutgers
November 25, 2024[34] John Tonje (2), Wisconsin Derik Queen, Maryland
December 2, 2024[35] Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue Dylan Harper (2), Rutgers
December 9, 2024[36] Vladislav Goldin, Michigan Derik Queen (2), Maryland
December 16, 2024[37] Brice Williams, Nebraska Kasparas Jakučionis, Illinois
Dylan Harper (3), Rutgers

Early season tournaments

Of the 18 Big Ten teams, 13 will participate in early season tournaments.[38]

Team Tournament Finish
Indiana Battle 4 Atlantis 7th
Michigan Fort Myers Tip-Off 1st
Michigan State Maui Invitational 3rd
Minnesota ESPN Events Invitational 4th
Nebraska Diamond Head Classic
Northwestern Arizona Tip-Off 3rd
Oregon Players Era Festival 1st
Penn State Sunshine Slam 2nd
Purdue Rady Children's Invitational 1st
Rutgers Players Era Festival 6th
USC Acrisure Classic 4th
Washington Acrisure Invitational 1st
Wisconsin Greenbrier Tip-Off 1st

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team is scheduled to play 20 conference games with at least one game against each opponent.

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Maryland
Michigan
Michigan St
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern
Ohio St
Oregon
Penn St
Purdue
Rutgers
UCLA
USC
Washington
Wisconsin
vs. Illinois – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1
vs. Indiana 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Iowa 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Maryland 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Michigan 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1
vs. Michigan St 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Minnesota 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Nebraska 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Northwestern 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Ohio State 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Oregon 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–0
vs. Penn State 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Purdue 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Rutgers 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. UCLA 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–1 0–0
vs. USC 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–1 0–0
vs. Washington 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 – 0–0
vs. Wisconsin 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 –
Total 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 0–2

Postseason

Big Ten tournament

Main article: 2025 Big Ten men's basketball tournament
This section is transcluded from 2025 Big Ten men's basketball tournament. (edit | history)
First round
Wednesday, March 12
Peacock		Second round
Thursday, March 13
BTN		Quarterfinals
Friday, March 14
BTN		Semifinals
Saturday, March 15
CBS		Championship
Sunday, March 16
CBS
1
8
9
4
5
12
13
2
7
10
15
3
6
11
14

* denotes overtime period

Although the conference grew by four teams, it has allotted only one additional spot for the conference tournament – meaning three teams will not qualify for the tournament. The tournament will still be over five days, with double byes for the top four seeds, and single byes for the next five seeds.[39]

References

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