Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, May 28, 2015
ESPN's John Goodman released his latest preseason men's college basketball poll, and six Big Ten teams land in the top 25. The top 22, to be exact.
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Leading the way, and the nation, is Maryland at No. 1, while Indiana (11), Michigan State (14), Michigan (15), Wisconsin (18) and Purdue (22) round out the Big Ten contingent in the top 25.
Goodman also lists Ohio State and Illinois at No. 45 and No. 49, respectively.
See a snippet of what Goodman says about each Big Ten team below.
1. Maryland
Mark Turgeon and the Terps are loaded. They have an upper-echelon point guard, experienced wings and talented big men. Read full breakdown.
11. Indiana
The trio of Ferrell, Blackmon and Williams all flirted with leaving for the NBA draft, but decided to return to Bloomington. Read full breakdown.
14. Michigan State
Tom Izzo will slide in Tum Tum Nairn to replace Travis Trice, who made significant strides over the course of his college career. Read full breakdown.
15. Michigan
Caris LeVert missed the second half of the season due to a foot injury, and if he and Walton are healthy, the Wolverines will have one of the best backcourts in the Big Ten — and maybe even the country. Read full breakdown.
18. Wisconsin
Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig are both high-level players, and we all know Bo Ryan can coach. Read full breakdown.
22. Purdue
Matt Painter has one of the most potent frontlines in the country with the addition of Caleb Swanigan to accompany 7-footer A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas. Read full breakdown.
45. Ohio State
Thad Matta and his staff will have to figure out a way to replace do-it-all guard D?Angelo Russell. Read full breakdown.
49. Illinois
John Groce gets Tracy Abrams back healthy and also added Mike Thorne, a Charlotte grad transfer who gives him a big, strong physical presence. Read full breakdown.
***
Here's our take on the ranking:
Too high: Michigan, No. 15. I like the Wolverines, and no one should ever doubt John Beilein; it just seems like No. 15 is a little bullish, especially considering Michigan's lack of frontcourt players.
Too low: Purdue, No. 22. The additions of Caleb Swanigan and UTSA transfer Johnny Hill to a strong nucleus that already included A.J. Hammons, Rapheal Davis and Isaac Haas, among several others, gives Matt Painter a deep and obviously giant roster.
Bigget snub: Iowa. The Hawkeyes lost a lot in Aaron White and Gabe Olaseni, however Fran McCaffery still has the talent, headlined by Jarrod Uthoff, to be in the discussion of the nation's top 50 teams.