Big Ten Basketball Preview Part 5: The Favorites

Sixteen teams down, just two to go. I think in the rest of the conference I zigged from the national consensus with quite a few teams (I am high on Rutgers, Wisconsin and Maryland, low on Michigan, Indiana and Oregon). When it comes to the top though, there are no surprises: Michigan State and Illinois.

These are the clear two favorites in the conference before any actual games have been played. The two teams in the top 10 in every preseason poll and metric. Let’s get into the rosters of each team, and discuss just how good they can be.

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Part 4: The Contenders

Part 3: The Middle

Part 2: Tournament Hopefuls

Part 1: The Bottom Feeders

2. Michigan State

Predicted Starting Lineup

Jeremy Fears Jr., Senior, 15.2 ppg/2.4 rpg/9.4 apg/1.3 spg

All the high hopes for Michigan State start and end with Jeremy Fears this year. With Braden Smith gone, he enters the year as the most accomplished point guard in the country and the preseason pick for National Player of the Year for many publications. His style catches a lot of headlines: he isn’t an incredible shooter or elite level athlete. He baits fouls as well (or as dishonorably, depending on your perspective) as anyone in the country, and has taken the baton from players like Brad Davison and Grayson Allen as the lightning rod of criticism for some of his unnecessary trips and kicks on the court. Love him or hate him though, he is an elite competitor and floor general who could average an assists double-double, which is almost unheard of in high major basketball.

Fears flails for foul | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jordan Scott, Sophomore, 5.8 ppg/3.1 rpg/1.2 apg

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Scott is a jumbo 6-foot-8 guard who took over a starting spot late in the season for the Spartans. He is being pointed at as a potential sophomore leap candidate. Offensively, he shot it well from three as a freshman at 37%, and should have put on some muscle in the spring and summer to be able to attack more effectively off the dribble. Where he really…

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Publish date : 2026-10-27 14:38:00

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