The 2023–24 Big Ten men's basketball season was the season for Big Ten Conference basketball teams that began with practices in October 2023, followed by the start of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2023. The regular season ended on March 10, 2024.
With a win over Michigan State on March 2, Purdue clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season championship. With a win over Illinois on March 5, the Boilermakers secured the outright Big Ten regular season championship for the second consecutive season and 26th overall.
Purdue center Zach Edey was named Big Ten Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg and Purdue coach Matt Painter were named co-Big Ten Coaches of the Year.
The Big Ten tournament was held from March 13 through March 17, 2024 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Illinois defeated Wisconsin in the championship game to win their fourth tournament title.
In addition to Illinois, who received the conference' automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin received bids to the tournament.
Three schools also received invitations to the National Invitation Tournament: Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio State.
The season marked the last season played with 14 teams in the conference, with four schools (Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington) joining the conference in 2024. This was the first season played under the Big Ten's new seven-year media rights deal. As a result, no conference games were played on ESPN and some games were played on Peacock for the first time.
Head coaches
Coaching changes
Penn State On March 22, 2023, Micah Shrewsberry left Penn State to take the head coaching job at Notre Dame. On March 29, the school named VCU head coach Mike Rhoades the team's new head coach.
Ohio State On February 14, 2024, Chris Holtmann was fired after 25 games, he finished his career at Ohio State with an overall record of 137–85. Ohio State promoted assistant coach Jake Diebler as interim head coach.
Coaches TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordBig Ten recordBig Ten titlesBig Ten tournament titlesNCAA TournamentsNCAA Final FoursNCAA ChampionshipsIllinoisOklahoma State711300IndianaMike Woodson300200IowaFran McCafferySiena1401700Maryland200100MichiganJuwan HowardMiami Heat (Asst.)510200Michigan StateTom Izzo291062581MinnesotaBen JohnsonXavier (Asst.)300000NebraskaFred HoibergChicago Bulls500000NorthwesternChris Collins1100200Ohio StateJake Diebler (interim)†100000Penn StateMike RhoadesVCU100000PurdueMatt Painter19421400RutgersSteve PikiellStony Brook800200WisconsinGreg Gard920500 Notes:
All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2023–24 season. Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school only and are through the beginning of the season. † Chris Holtmann was fired on February 14, 2024. He finished his career at Ohio State with an overall record of 137–84. Source:
Preseason Preseason Big Ten poll Prior to the conference's annual media day, conference standings were projected by panel of writers.
RankTeam1Purdue (24)2Michigan State (4)3Maryland4Illinois5Wisconsin6Indiana7Ohio State8Northwestern9Iowa10Rutgers11Michigan12Nebraska13Penn State14Minnesota(first place votes)
Preseason All-Big Ten A select media panel named a preseason All-Big Ten team and player of the year.
Honor RecipientPreseason Player of the YearZach Edey, PurduePreseason All-Big Ten TeamBoo Buie, NorthwesternZach Edey, PurdueDawson Garcia, MinnesotaA.J. Hoggard, Michigan StateClifford Omoruyi, RutgersJulian Reese, MarylandTerrence Shannon Jr., IllinoisKeisei Tominaga, NebraskaTyson Walker, Michigan StateJahmir Young, Maryland
Preseason All-American teams
PlayerAP Zach Edey 1st
Preseason national polls
AP Blue RibbonYearbook CBS Sports Coaches ESPN FOX Sports Lindy'sSports Sporting NewsSports IllustratedIllinois 25 18 25 25Indiana Iowa Maryland 23 19 25 16Michigan Michigan State 4 5 11 4 4 4 4 55Minnesota Nebraska Northwestern Ohio State Penn State Purdue 3 2 1 2 3 3 3 23Rutgers Wisconsin
Preseason watchlists Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.
PlayerWoodenNaismithNaismith DPOY RobertsonCousyWestErving MaloneAbdul-Jabbar Jamison Battle, Ohio StateAce Baldwin Jr., Penn StateBoo Buie, NorthwesternCoen Carr, Michigan StateZach Edey, PurdueDawson Garcia, MinnesotaColeman Hawkins, IllinoisA.J. Hoggard, Michigan StateFletcher Loyer, PurdueClifford Omoruyi, RutgersJulian Reese, MarylandPayton Sandfort, IowaTerrence Shannon Jr., IllinoisTyler Wahl, WisconsinTyson Walker, Michigan StateKel'el Ware, IndianaJahmir Young, Maryland
Regular season
2023 Gavitt Tipoff Games (Tied 44) DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader Mon., Nov. 13 6:30 p.m. St. John's Michigan 89–73 Madison Square Garden • New York, NY FS1 14,188 8:30 p.m. Xavier No. 2 Purdue83–71 Mackey Arena • West Lafayette, IN FS1 14,876 Big Ten (2–0) Tue., Nov. 14 6:00 p.m. Providence Wisconsin 72–59 Amica Mutual Pavilion • Providence, RI FS1 12,069 Big Ten (2–1) 8:00 p.m. No. 4 Marquette No. 23 Illinois 71–64 State Farm Center • Champaign, IL FS1 15,544 Tied (2–2) 10:00 p.m. No. 8 Creighton Iowa 92–84 CHI Health Center Omaha • Omaha, NE FS1 17,352 8:30 p.m. Georgetown Rutgers 71–60 Jersey Mike's Arena • Piscataway, NJ FS1 8,000 Tied (3–3) Fri., Nov. 17 6:30 p.m. Butler No. 18 Michigan State 74–54 Breslin Center • East Lansing, MI FS1 14,797 Big Ten (4–3) 8:30 p.m. No. 21 Villanova Maryland 57–40 Finneran Pavilion • Villanova, PA FS1 6,501 Tied (4–4) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll.Did not participate: Connecticut, DePaul, Seton Hall (Big East); Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State (Big Ten)
Rankings
+ Legend Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking Not ranked previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll (Italics) Number of first place votes
Pre/Wk 1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19 Wk20 FinalIllinois AP2523RV2420161311910141014101412131213106CRV232224181611981014111412141216121410 7Indiana APRVCRVRVRV Iowa APRVCRVRVRV Maryland APRVCRV Michigan APRVRVCRV Michigan State AP41821 RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVC4 (4)191925RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV RVMinnesota APC Nebraska APRVRVRVRVCRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV Northwestern APRV25RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVCRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVOhio State APRVRVRVRVRVRVCRVRV25RVRVRVRVRV Penn State APC Purdue AP3 (3)2 (7)2 (5)1 (60)431 (48)1 (46)1 (49)1 (54)2 (20)2 (17)2 (14)2 (16)2 (16)32 (4)3 (4)3 (4)32C2 (5)2 (3)2 (5)1 (32)441 (20)1 (24)1 (23)1 (21)2 (12)2 (8)2 (8)2 (7)2 (8)33 (4)3 (1)3 (2)3 2Rutgers APC Wisconsin APRVRV232324232115111361120RVRV23RVCRVRVRV23242321158106921RVRV24 RV Early season tournaments Of the 14 Big Ten teams, nine participated in early season tournaments. Eight teams participated in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.
Team Tournament FinishIndianaEmpire Classic3rdIowaRady Children's Invitational3rdMarylandAsheville Championship4thMichiganBattle 4 Atlantis6thNorthwesternHall of Fame Tip-Off2ndOhio StateEmerald Coast Classic1stPenn StateESPN Events Invitational8thPurdueMaui Invitational1stWisconsinFort Myers Tip-Off1st
Players of the week Throughout the conference regular season, the Big Ten offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday. Week Player of the week Freshman of the weekNovember 13, 2023Dawson Garcia, MinnesotaOwen Freeman, IowaNovember 20, 2023Ben Krikki, IowaOwen Freeman (2), IowaNovember 27, 2023Zach Edey, PurdueJohn Blackwell, WisconsinDecember 4, 2023Boo Buie, NorthwesternOwen Freeman (3), IowaDecember 11, 2023Zach Edey (2), PurdueJohn Blackwell (2), WisconsinDecember 18, 2023Fletcher Loyer, PurdueOwen Freeman (4), IowaJanuary 2, 2024Jahmir Young, MarylandMackenzie Mgbako, IndianaJanuary 8, 2024Marcus Domask, IllinoisOwen Freeman (5), IowaJanuary 15, 2024Jahmir Young (2), MarylandOwen Freeman (6), IowaJanuary 22, 2024Zach Edey (3), PurdueJohn Blackwell (3), WisconsinJanuary 29, 2024Boo Buie (2), NorthwesternOwen Freeman (7), IowaFebruary 5, 2024Zach Edey (4), PurdueCam Christie, MinnesotaFebruary 12, 2024Jeremiah Williams, RutgersOwen Freeman (8), IowaFebruary 19, 2024Terrence Shannon Jr., IllinoisOwen Freeman (9), IowaFebruary 26, 2024Zach Edey (5), PurdueMackenzie Mgbako (2), IndianaMarch 4, 2024Payton Sandfort, IowaCam Christie (2), MinnesotaMarch 11, 2024Zach Edey (6), PurdueJohn Blackwell (4), Wisconsin
Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team is scheduled to play 20 conference games with at least one game against each opponent.
Illinois Indiana Iowa Maryland Michigan Michigan St Minnesota Nebraska Northwestern Ohio St Penn St Purdue Rutgers Wisconsin vs. Illinois – 0–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–20–1 vs. Indiana 1–0 – 0–1 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–2 2–0 1–0 0–2 1–0 2–0 1–01–1 vs. Iowa 2–01–0 – 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 0–11–1 vs. Maryland 1–1 2–0 0–2 – 0–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–11–0 vs. Michigan 2–01–01–1 1–0 – 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–00–1 vs. Michigan St 1–1 1–01–0 0–2 0–2 – 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 0–12–0 vs. Minnesota 1–02–02–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 – 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–11–0 vs. Nebraska 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 – 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–11–1 vs. Northwestern 1–10–11–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 – 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–01–0 vs. Ohio State 1–0 2–01–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 – 1–0 0–1 0–22–0 vs. Penn State 0–10–21–1 1–1 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–10–1 vs. Purdue 0–20–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 – 0–20–2 vs. Rutgers 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 – 1–1 vs. Wisconsin 1–01–11–1 0–1 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 – Total 14–610–1010–10 7–13 3–17 10–10 9–11 12–8 12–8 9–11 9–11 17–3 7–1311–9 Final regular season records
Honors and awards All-Big Ten awards and teams On March 12, 2024, the Big Ten announced most of its conference awards.