Earlier than the main focus absolutely shifts to the 2025-26 males’s faculty basketball season, we’re evaluating how this previous season went.
With grades for the Massive East and ACC already in, we’re shifting on to the Massive Ten, with our report card for every of the 18 groups under.
A part of this course of is easy: crew that performed like crew will earn a robust grade, and one which performed like a nasty crew won’t. However it is going to be difficult for sure groups. Some had championship goals. Others hoped to win just some video games. Both approach, we’re judging every squad’s season based mostly on preseason expectations whereas providing grace on a case-by-case foundation for any unlucky midseason occasions.
Test again every Wednesday in Could as we grade the remainder of the facility conferences with the Massive 12 on Could 21 and SEC on Could 28.
Notice: Groups listed in alphabetical order underneath every grading tier.
Leap to a crew: Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio State | Oregon | Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | UCLA | USC | Washington | Wisconsin
A grades
Grade: A
Brad Underwood needed to exchange the highest eight scorers from an Illinois crew that made an Elite Eight run in 2024, together with Terrence Shannon Jr., a third-team AP All-American who averaged 23.0 factors that season — a big exodus even within the present local weather. However Underwood soared with a masterful rebuild in 2024-25, as projected lottery decide Kasparas Jakucionis averaged 15.7 factors, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists for a squad that reached the second spherical of the NCAA event. The Illini earned 11 wins over top-50 KenPom opponents underneath difficult circumstances.
Grade: A
After a disappointing 2023-24 marketing campaign that ended with out an NCAA event berth, Kevin Willard’s squad had among the finest seasons in program historical past. Derik Queen (16.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG) led a Maryland crew that linked on 37% of its 3-point makes an attempt and performed top-10 protection. And after preseason projections positioned the Terps in the midst of the Massive Ten standings, they completed in a tie for second.
Maryland received 27 video games in a superb season that ended with the crew’s first journey to the Candy 16 since 2016. Willard’s hiring at Villanova was the last word testomony to the Terps’ success.
Grade: A
Michigan employed former Florida Atlantic coach Dusty Could to provide the Wolverines a lift after ending with eight wins in 2023-24, Juwan Howard’s closing 12 months in Ann Arbor. Could did that and extra, returning this system to nationwide prominence in his first season on the helm.
The unorthodox pairing of 7-footers Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin made the Wolverines a tough matchup for each crew within the nation. The 2 led an offense that fueled a second-place end within the Massive Ten, a convention event championship and a visit to the Candy 16. The Wolverines have been additionally certainly one of America’s finest defensive groups, ending twelfth within the nation in adjusted effectivity.
Grade: A
Tom Izzo did not have a fleet of five-star recruits or seven-figure transfers on his roster, however he nonetheless managed to dominate the Massive Ten and orchestrate one of the vital shocking rallies of his tenure.
Freshman Jase Richardson, the son of Jason Richardson, who performed for Izzo when the Spartans received the nationwide title in 2000, emerged as a younger star (12.1 PPG, 41% from past the arc) and an NBA prospect for a gritty crew that additionally relied on Jaden Akins, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Tre Holloman. With top-five marks within the Massive Ten in offensive and defensive effectivity, Michigan State received the convention’s regular-season title by three video games, earned a 2-seed within the NCAA event and made a run to the Elite Eight in a season that proved the 70-year-old Izzo hasn’t misplaced his fastball.
Grade: A
Greg Gard tends to do his finest work amid doubts about his crew. That was definitely true in 2024-25, when his Badgers completed in a tie for third place within the Massive Ten and received 27 video games after shedding three of their high 5 scorers from the earlier season, together with Chucky Hepburn, who went on to earn AP All-American honorable point out honors at Louisville.
One media preseason ballot picked Wisconsin to complete twelfth within the convention standings. However John Tonje emerged as one of many greatest surprises of the school basketball season. Accidents had compelled him to overlook the majority of 2023-24 at Missouri earlier than he transferred to Wisconsin, the place he earned AP second-team All-America honors (19.6 PPG).
B grades
Grade: B
An unofficial preseason media ballot picked Northwestern to complete sixteenth out of 18 groups. The Wildcats prevented that projection, ending in a multiteam tie for twelfth place, however that is not the complete story: Brooks Barnhizer (17.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG) and Jalen Leach (14.3 PPG), two of the crew’s high three scorers, missed 26 video games mixed due to damage. In consequence, the Wildcats struggled in a robust Massive Ten however nonetheless went 17-16 total, securing a end of .500 or higher for simply the thirty first time in this system’s 120-year historical past. That is why Chris Collins earned a prolonged extension when the season ended.
Grade: B
Regardless of shedding 5 straight video games over one rocky stretch, Dana Altman’s squad maintained his 15-year streak of 20-win seasons. The Geese picked up wins over Alabama, Texas A&M, Wisconsin and Maryland on their approach to securing a seventh-place end (tied with Illinois) in addition to a 5-seed within the NCAA event. Nate Bittle (14.2 PPG) and three different gamers averaged double figures for a crew that superior to the second spherical of the NCAA event.
It was a robust debut for an Oregon crew that battled in one of the vital aggressive conferences within the nation.
Grade: B
For simply the second time in faculty basketball historical past, a crew needed to regroup after shedding a back-to-back Picket Award winner. Zach Edey had been the anchor of a Purdue crew that reached the nationwide championship recreation in 2024, however Braden Smith emerged as the brand new chief of this system, turning into the third straight Boilermaker to win Massive Ten Participant of the 12 months. Trey Kaufman-Renn (20.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG) additionally stood out as one of many nation’s high huge males for a 24-win Purdue crew that reached the Candy 16.
Nonetheless, the Boilermakers completed in a tie for fourth after opening the season with the best rating amongst Massive Ten groups within the AP’s preseason ballot (14th) and being picked to win the convention crown in a single media ballot.
Grade: B
After an early-January dwelling loss to Michigan, Mick Cronin ripped his crew within the postgame information convention, saying he had extra “ardour” than any participant on the roster. He criticized his assistants and different staffers, too. However the viral rant marked a turning level for a program that completed 13-7 in its first Massive Ten season following a 2-4 begin to convention play. The Bruins — with wins over Arizona, Gonzaga, Michigan State and Wisconsin — went on to earn a 7-seed within the NCAA event. Additionally they completed top-five in offensive and defensive effectivity within the league.
Nonetheless, they entered the season with critical Massive Ten championship ambitions that have been stalled by the stretch of poor play that prompted Cronin’s rant.
C grades
Grade: C
Most preseason projections positioned the Gophers on the backside of the Massive Ten, however Ben Johnson managed to elevate them barely above these expectations, ending 7-13 and tied for twelfth within the convention. They collected wins over three top-30 KenPom groups (Oregon, UCLA and Michigan) alongside the way in which, and Dawson Garcia (19.2 PPG) was among the finest gamers within the convention. The varsity nonetheless determined to fireside Johnson, a former Minnesota standout, after the third sub-.500 season of his four-year tenure. However the story of this system is just like that of different groups: Minnesota’s low-level NIL funding made it difficult to thrive within the present panorama.
Grade: C
After his crew ended the common season on a five-game shedding streak, Fred Hoiberg launched a press release that mentioned Nebraska “simply didn’t shut out video games the way in which [the team] wanted to.” At one level, the Huskers — who misplaced the nucleus of a program that had reached the NCAA event the earlier 12 months — have been 12-2 total and 2-1 within the Massive Ten following a Jan. 4 win over UCLA. However they misplaced 12 of their subsequent 17 video games in a wild collapse that ruined their exterior possibilities of an NCAA event berth.
D grades
Grade: D
Mike Woodson understood the stakes in addition to anybody when Indiana employed the previous Hoosiers star in 2021. “The gamers are on the lookout for me to get them the place they should go, and I am on the lookout for them to get Indiana basketball the place it must go,” he mentioned at his opening information convention that 12 months. Woodson finally didn’t elevate this system to nationwide contender standing, nonetheless, resulting in the February announcement he would step down on the finish of the season — one which began with Massive Ten title and Last 4 aspirations and ended with out an NCAA event look.
Grade: D
A disastrous season for the Hawkeyes resulted in longtime coach Fran McCaffery’s firing. The Hawkeyes had their lowest KenPom rating in seven years, ending final in defensive effectivity in league play (58% capturing allowed total, 38% from 3).
Sure, the Massive Ten was a gauntlet with eight groups securing NCAA event bids. And Owen Freeman’s season-ending finger damage in early February was vital contemplating the 6-foot-10 sophomore had averaged 16.7 factors, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. However the Hawkeyes have been by no means really aggressive, sitting at 13-8 total and 4-6 in convention play after they misplaced Freeman, finally ending 7-13 within the Massive Ten.
Grade: D
Hopes have been excessive for Jake Diebler’s first official season as Ohio State’s head coach. He had helped the Buckeyes salvage the 2023-24 marketing campaign after he took over on an interim foundation following Chris Holtmann’s midseason firing. Then within the offseason, Diebler added high transfers Meechie Johnson Jr. and Micah Parrish. Bruce Thornton (17.7 PPG) returned, too. However Johnson missed the majority of the season due to private challenges. And whereas the Buckeyes secured wins over Texas, Kentucky, Purdue and Maryland, they nonetheless fell in need of these preseason expectations, ending tenth within the Massive Ten and lacking the NCAA event.
Grade: D
Of their second season underneath Mike Rhoades, the Nittany Lions have been 12-2 of their first 14 video games, which included a 2-1 tally in Massive Ten play with wins over Purdue and Northwestern. They have been led by Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.0 PPG, 7.1 APG, 2.4 SPG), who received his second consecutive Massive Ten Defensive Participant of the 12 months award. However the remainder of their season was a freefall as they went 4-13 over their final 17 video games and didn’t even qualify for the convention event.
Grade: D
Eric Musselman’s transfer from Arkansas to USC was a part of a shuffle on the high of the boys’s faculty basketball head-coaching hierarchy as huge names made strikes throughout the nation. The Trojans had endured a disappointing 2023-24 marketing campaign as Bronny James & Co. drew huge crowds however received solely 15 video games. They once more struggled to lift the bar in Musselman’s first season, although, with a sub-.500 marketing campaign. Terrence Williams (10.6 PPG) performed simply seven video games due to damage, which impacted their ceiling — however not as a lot as their shoddy protection (88th in adjusted effectivity), which restricted their skill to beat good groups.
F grades
Grade: F
Whereas it is by no means simple to win with youth, particularly in a sport with contenders that closely characteristic fifth- and sixth-year skills, Rutgers did not have simply any younger expertise. Coach Steve Pikiell had two of the highest recruits in program historical past: Dylan Harper (19.4 PPG) and Ace Bailey (17.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG) have been projected top-three picks within the 2025 NBA draft all season. They have been paid hundreds of thousands to vary the face of Rutgers basketball, however the Knights as an alternative completed eleventh within the Massive Ten with an 8-12 document in convention play and a 15-17 document total, shedding to groups like Kennesaw State and Princeton alongside the way in which.
It is tough to characterize this season as something however a failure for this system.
Grade: F
In response to a doc reviewed by ESPN, Nice Osobor (14.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG) earned $2 million to comply with head coach Danny Sprinkle from Utah State to Washington. However a seven-figure sum for the 2024 Mountain West Participant of the 12 months could not elevate the Huskies from the underside of the Massive Ten. They completed final within the convention standings at 4-16 (13-18 total), shedding 5 video games by 20 or extra factors.
The arrival of Osobor and Sprinkle, the 2024 Mountain West Coach of the 12 months, magnified the preseason buzz. However the Huskies didn’t reside as much as the hype.
