The Big Ten has a long history of talented college basketball teams. The 2024-25 season will be no different, with four teams in the AP Top 25 Poll to start the season. Purdue, the league’s best team last season, is at the top and should be the favorite to win the conference again. Indiana is once again highly regarded, but will they live up to the great expectations? The Big Ten has also been notorious for having dark horse teams.
That will be no different this season, with 18 teams now duking it out to be the Big Ten’s best. That makes things even tougher. It’s certainly a new era in college basketball. Then again, this year’s top dark horses in the Big Ten, are some teams that have long carried the conference as a whole.
The Michigan Wolverines were the worst team in the Big Ten last season, winning only eight games. The Juwan Howard era is behind them, and now they have their eyes focused on making noise in 2024-25. They aren’t alone, but they are certainly a team to keep an eye on.
Michigan Tops Large List of Big Ten Dark Horses in 2024-25
New head coach Dusty May made it a day-one priority to get things turned around quickly in Ann Arbor. He has done that with pretty much a clean slate on the roster. Probably the biggest get for Michigan was adding two very good big men. Vlad Goldin was pretty much a foregone conclusion in that he was going to follow May to Ann Arbor. He did, and the Wolverines were also able to snatch Danny Wolf. Those weren’t the only big additions, as the Wolverines completely rebuilt its backcourt. As the season gets closer and closer, Coach May gets more and more confident in his team by the day.
Media Day
Those who stay …#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/AvzvW5tNF6— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) October 19, 2024
May spoke with the Detroit Free Press about the confidence around the team, and how he thinks they can compete in year one.
“We have the individual pieces where we could have a really good basketball team,” May said. ” Obviosuly, as we all know when you get to the tournament: the matchups, the breaks, the health, all those things play a factor, but we’re a confident group. These guys, most come from programs where they won a lot of games and won championships. I don’t think they came here to take a step back. … but once again the talk is the talk, the play is the play.”
It is very clear vibes are much better in Ann Arbor. If May can get the Wolverines back to the level John Beilein took them to, then Michigan basketball fans should be feeling good. Player confidence has proven to be the key when teams are considered dark horses, and the Wolverines top that list.
Great Osobor Makes Washington A Threat
The adjustment to playing in the Big Ten isn’t easy, but the Washington Huskies have plenty of things to be excited about in this new era. Like most teams across the country, the Huskies took great advantage of the transfer portal. They added plenty of experienced players from smaller schools, and other Big Ten teams alike. By far, their biggest move was landing Great Osobor. Osobor has already been receiving high praise from the Big Ten itself. Coach Danny Sprinkle has had success at a number of levels, and Osobor has been the key to that. He has followed him from Utah State, and he also played for him at Montana State before that.
Osobor has been ever committed to Sprinkle, and now he gets to showcase exactly what he can do in the Big Ten. He is a perfect fit given the success of big-men in the Big Ten. He might not be as tall as Zach Edey, but Osobor could continue the run on centers winning Big Ten Player of the Year.
My preseason @B1GMBBall POY Great Osobor of @UW_MBB for @BigTenNetwork: pic.twitter.com/S3Rk371Dmf
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) October 3, 2024
Osobor spoke about his relationship with Coach Sprinkle during Big Ten Media Days, and why he followed him to Washington.
” Coach Sprinkle is my guy; he’s a tough coach, but he’s fair,” Osobor said via NBC Sports. “Once he trusts you, he gives you a lot of freedom, and I feel like that’s helped me because my game is a little bit unorthodox. You have to have someone that trusts you to do some of the stuff that I do, and the fact that he trusts me and lets me have that type of freedom means a lot.”
His additon the Huskies has put them in the conversation as a true dark horse team for 2024-25. They likely won’t win the Big Ten, but they sure as heck can compete to be an NCAA tournament team.
Big Ten Is Deep, So Who Really Knows
This league might be as deep as ever. The real factor this season will be who lives up to the hype, and who doesn’t. The staples of the Big Ten in recent memory, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State all have question marks. From player turnover to unproven players, the Big Ten is going to be interesting to say the least. Purdue certainly has the lock on the top until proven otherwise. You can’t count out anyone in this new era.
