Retention is the name of the game in the Big Ten. The league returns 14 of the top-30 scorers from a year ago. No other high-major league returns more than seven. This year’s Big Ten looks extremely similar to last year’s SEC, where double-digit rosters appear stacked on paper.
It speaks to the investment in basketball, and we saw that in the coaching carousel as well. Iowa plucked Ben McCollum, one of the hottest names in the cycle. Indiana stole West Virginia’s Darian DeVries. Buzz Williams opted to leave Texas A&M for Maryland. Minnesota had a gift fall into its lap with Niko Medved, a former Gophers manager back in the day, still being available.
The starpower at the top of the league is obvious with four true National Championship contenders emerging, but the Big Ten could feasibly make a run at putting 14 teams into the NCAA Tournament, just like the SEC did a year ago.
2025-26 CBS Sports preseason individual awards: Purdue’s Braden Smith earns Player of the Year honors
Matt Norlander
A glorious bloodbath awaits.
CBS Sports Big 10 Preseason Player of the Year
Braden Smith | Purdue | G
Braden Smith is the ultimate conductor for a Purdue offense that should hit some sky-high notes in 2025-26. Smith makes everyone’s life easier with his feel, vision and manipulation of defenses. The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year has an answer for every defensive coverage, and Smith has gotten better and better every season. He splashes treys. His midrange pull-ups are automatic. His baseline fadeaways are unguardable….
..
