You’re Nuts: Which Big Ten team that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament last year will make it this year?

Happy FIFA World Cup Week to all, and happy National Peanut Butter Cookie Day to those without the world’s most common food allergy.

Welcome to another edition of “You’re Nuts”, where our basketball writers pass the time during the long, grueling off-season by picking a basketball-related topic and debating it until we hit somewhere around 1,000 words and call it a day.

Advertisement

Last week, the guys debated whether Ohio State’s offense – which has improved every year under Jake Diebler so far — will continue that trend and improve again next season. While offensive efficiency isn’t the only offensive statistic we care about, we used that as an example – by the end of his interim season, Ohio State was 39th in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.

During Diebler’s first full season, the Buckeyes jumped to 30th nationally, and last season Ohio State was 17th. Will they continue the upward trend in the 2026-27 season?

Connor said no, mostly because he believed that the absence of Bruce Thornton will take some time after the program’s all-time leading scorer was the de-facto answer for every dead possession for three years. Justin said yes, the offense will continue to get better, because their top four options this season are better than their top four options last season.

This week we actually aren’t talking about the Buckeyes at all — for good reason. Nine Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament last season, and nine did not. Of those nine, is there one that you feel is going to take a big step forward this year, and therefore make the tournament? Since Ohio State made the dance last year, we aren’t talking about them this week.

Advertisement

This week’s question: Which Big Ten team that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament last year will make it this year?

Connor: Maryland

Maryland was almost the worst team in the Big Ten last season, finishing second-to-last with a conference record of 4-16. I think most people expected it to be a transition year for…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nuts-big-ten-team-didn-180100025.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-06-13 18:01:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.