Big Ten Men's Basketball Power Poll Offseason Edition

May 9—Rosters aren't completely finalized across the 18-team Big Ten, but the heavy lifting has been done to fielding competitive teams (they all hope) in 2025-26. Enough that Illinois beat writer Scott Richey can provide his first Big Ten offseason power poll:

No other team in the Big Ten returns two All-Americans, giving the Boilermakers a significant leg up with Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn. They hit on some key additions, too, like big man transfer Oscar Cluff (South Dakota State) and Israeli guard Omer Mayer.

Much has been made of Illinois' all-Balkans offseason — particularly landing California transfer Andrej Stojakovic — but the most pivotal moves Brad Underwood and Co. made were securing second seasons in Champaign for Kylan Boswell and Tomislav Ivisic.

The Bruins kept part of their rotation intact, with Skyy Clark, Eric Dailey Jr. and Tyler Bilodeau all returning. Retaining three starters from a 23-win team is a big deal. So is landing All-American transfer guard Donovan Dent from New Mexico to run the show.

Will Yaxel Lendeborg actually wind up in Ann Arbor, Mich.? The UAB transfer opting out of the NBA draft would be huge for the Wolverines, who rebuilt again in Year 2 under Dusty May with multiple transfer additions that also included former Illini Morez Johnson Jr.

Incoming transfers Kaleb Glenn (Florida Atlantic) and Trey Fort (Samford) have significant shoes to fill as essentially the Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins replacements. If they can't, the Spartans might need a breakout season from Jeremy Fears Jr.

6. Iowa

First-year coach Ben McCollum essentially shifted his Drake team 114 miles east, with Bennett Stirtz leading the way. But pairing the All-American guard with Kansas State's Brendan Hausen and Robert Morris' Alvaro Folgueiras could only happen in the Big Ten.

A healthy Tucker DeVries could be a problem in the Big Ten. Something his dad — new Hoosiers coach Darian DeVries — is obviously counting on after a from-the-ground-up rebuild that also netted Sam Houston State's Lamar Wilkerson and Davidson's Reed Bailey.

Everyone in Madison, Wis., is holding their breath waiting for John Blackwell to pull out of the NBA draft. While it's the likely move, low-level anxiety will persist until he does because decent transfer additions still rely on Blackwell being the guy for the Badgers.

Continuity is an afterthought for the Trojans, who will put an entirely new team on the court for a second straight season. Eric Musselman was able to work some portal magic, though, getting Maryland's Rodney Rice and Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara.

The Huskies' efforts in the portal brought in several intriguing pieces for Danny Sprinkle. Perhaps none more so than boomerang guard Wesley Yates III, who started his career in Seattle but had his breakout moment last season for USC and is an All-Big Ten candidate.

New coach Buzz Williams brought several players with him from Texas A&M. That could be key. So could a bounce-back season from Indiana transfer Myles Rice. The big get this offseason, however, was landing five-star freshman guard Darius Adams.

Retention efforts were solid for the Cornhuskers, who will also benefit from getting Rienk Mast back after last year's season-ending knee surgery. The big addition? A familiar Big Ten face in Iowa's Pryce Sandfort, who Nebraska hopes turns into his brother.

The returning trio of Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal gives Ohio State a solid foundation in the 2025-26 season. But has Buckeyes coach Jake Diebler done enough around them? Santa Clara transfer Christoph Tilly being the offseason headliner says "no."

Nate Bittle withdrawing from the NBA draft would be seriously good news for the Ducks, who return Jackson Shelstad but would be better if they could pair him with the 7-footer again. Otherwise coach Dana Altman better not be done in the portal.

The 2025-26 season won't be all that different for the Wildcats, who had to get used to life without Brooks Barnhizer sooner than they would have liked in February. Nick Martinelli is Northwestern's centerpiece, but how much help he has remains the question.

New coach Niko Medved had to turn to the transfer portal to build his first roster given he inherited a complete teardown of an operation. How much he can get from mostly mid-major players remains to be seen, but he fared well at Colorado State and Drake doing the same.

The Nittany Lions are in a similar place as some of their league counterparts where a draft decision will have a major impact on next season. Another year of Yanic Konan Niederhauser might — stress, might — keep Penn State out of the absolute Big Ten basement.

Steve Pikiell's five-star, one-and-done experiment failed. You can't blame the Rutgers coach for taking Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, but a 15-17 season was not the desired outcome. This looks like a return to Rutgers' roots, but a reset is in order.