4. Illinois
Get this Illinois team some Cortizone – because they’ve got a lot of “-ic”s. Brad Underwood chose to build this roster not from the transfer portal but through Europe, and the experiment appears to be working thus far. And the scary part is that this team is not even fully healthy yet, and they’ve already beaten Tennessee and Texas Tech.
5. Wisconsin
This Wisconsin team may have the best top-3 players in the Big Ten: John Blackwell and Nick Boyd are dynamic and elite guards, and Nolan Winter is one of the nation’s best centers. But whether or not this Badgers team makes it to the Final Four will depend on the development of the rest of the roster.
6. UCLA
Mick Cronin’s Bruins hold the distinction of sitting in first place in the Big Ten as of this writing – they are the only team at 2-0 through two games. And Mick Cronin is still doing Mick Cronin things, as he’s already benched his entire starting five once. But don’t be fooled, this team has the talent to compete at the top of this league.
