Every single year leading up to March Madness, there seems to be a common theme within the Big Ten: that there are more than a few contenders showing up in the tournament every single year to compete. This year seems to be no different, with the highlights of the Big Ten being Purdue, Michigan State and Maryland, with Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan not being too far behind them. The defending Big Ten Champs, The Illinois Fighting Illini, are tight roping between the top 25 and unranked.
The Purdue Boilermakers seem to be making this season count without their former star player and player of the year Zach Edey, making a run within the conference with one of the best pure point guards in the nation – Braden Smith. The Michigan State Spartans have also been stellar this year, highlighted by legendary coach Tom Izzo and standout star Jase Richardson – son of Jason Richardson, former National Basketball Association guard for the 76ers and Warriors.
There are also some newcomers to these top performers, such as the Wisconsin Badgers, who did some work in the transfer portal to save their previous season of 22-14 – as they had risen to 17-5 at the start of the month of February. Another newcomer of the top teams within this conference is the Maryland Terrapins.
Maryland seems to be one of the more consistent teams of the bunch, as they have been in the top 25 for most of the season. The Terrapins hot performance this season has been led by former five star and freshman of the year contender Derik Queen. Queen has put up an impressive 15 points per game and eight rebounds per game, putting up double doubles even against top 25 competition.
As the season starts to wrap up and head into March, conference tournament champion contenders seem to become more prevalent. The outlook on the tournament right now is that Michigan State will be the one seed, followed by Purdue, Michigan and Wisconsin. Rounding out the top five is Maryland, sitting at fifth in the conference. Some sneaky teams that could make a run are the Oregon Ducks, UCLA and Indiana. The College Basketball world is waiting to see who will sit atop of the Big Ten Conference, and lead the charge into the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament with National Championship desires.