The 2024–25 Big Ten men's basketball season was for the Big Ten Conference in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The basketball teams began practicing in October 2024, followed by the start of the season in November 2024. The regular season concluded on March 9, 2025.
This was the conference's first season with 18 teams, as four schools joined the conference in 2024: Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. Each team played 20 regular season conference games, seven opponents only at home, seven others only on the road, and a home-and-home with three opposing schools.
With a loss by Michigan on March 5, 2025, Michigan State secured at least a share of the Big Ten regular season championship, their first since 2020. On March 6, the Spartans secured the outright regular season championship with a win over Iowa, their first outright championship since 2018. Purdue point guard Braden Smith was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.
The Big Ten tournament was held from March 12 through March 16 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Michigan defeated Wisconsin to win the school's fourth Big Ten tournament championship.
Michigan received the conference's automatic NCAA tournament bid, in addition Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin, and UCLA received at-large bids to the tournament. In the first round the Big Ten went 8–0, setting an NCAA record for the most wins without a loss by any conference in any round in the history of the tournament. Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Only Michigan State advanced to the Elite Eight before losing, extending the conference's national championship drought to 25 years.
Head coaches Coaching changes Michigan On March 15, 2024, Michigan fired head coach Juwan Howard after finishing the 2023–24 season with an 8–24 record. On March 24, the school named Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May the team's new head coach.
Ohio State On February 15, Ohio State fired Chris Holtmann. The school named associate head coach Jake Diebler the team's interim head coach. Following the completion of the Big Ten Tournament, the school named Diebler the team's new head coach after finishing the season with a 6–2 record as interim coach.
USC On April 1, USC head coach Andy Enfield left the school to take the head coaching position at SMU. On April 4, the school named Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman the team's new head coach.
Washington On March 8, Washington fired head coach Mike Hopkins after seven seasons. On March 25, the school named Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle the team's new head coach.
Coaches TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordBig Ten recordBig Ten titlesBig Ten tournament titlesNCAA TournamentsNCAA Final FoursNCAA ChampionshipsIllinoisOklahoma State812400IndianaMike Woodson400200IowaFran McCafferySiena1501700Maryland200100MichiganDusty MayFlorida Atlantic100000Michigan StateTom Izzo301062681MinnesotaBen JohnsonXavier (Asst.)400000NebraskaFred HoibergChicago Bulls600100NorthwesternChris Collins1200300Ohio StateJake Diebler200000OregonDana AltmanCreighton1500810Penn StateMike RhoadesVCU200000PurdueMatt Painter20521410RutgersSteve PikiellStony Brook900200UCLAMick CroninCincinnati600310USCEric MusselmanArkansas100000WashingtonDanny SprinkleUtah State100000WisconsinGreg Gard1020600 Notes:
All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2024–25 season. Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school only and are through the beginning of the season.
Preseason Preseason Big Ten poll The Big Ten Media poll was released on October 2, 2024.
RankTeam1Purdue2Indiana3UCLA4Illinois5Michigan State6Oregon7Rutgers8Ohio State9Michigan10Maryland11Iowa12NebraskaWisconsin14USC15Washington16Northwestern17Penn State18Minnesota
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 YearBraden Smith, PurduePreseason All-Big Ten TeamOumar Ballo, IndianaPayton Sandfort, IowaDawson Garcia, MinnesotaBrooks Barnhizer, NorthwesternBruce Thornton, Ohio StateJackson Shelstad, OregonAce Baldwin Jr., Penn StateBraden Smith, PurdueDylan Harper, RutgersGreat Osobor, Washington
Preseason national polls
AP Blue RibbonYearbook CBS Sports Coaches ESPN FOX Sports Lindy'sSports Sporting NewsSports IllustratedIllinois 17 24 25 21 22 21Indiana 17 14 18 18 18 16 15 18 26Iowa 40Maryland 43Michigan 41Michigan State 26 36Minnesota 84Nebraska 63Northwestern 54Ohio State 15 22 34Oregon 30 29Penn State 61Purdue 14 22 12 13 16 14 17 6 14Rutgers 25 23 25 35 25 32UCLA 22 19 22 24 17 19 17 30USC 37 48Washington 33 65Wisconsin 68
Preseason watchlists Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.
PlayerWoodenNaismithNaismith DPOYRobertsonCousyWestErving MaloneAbdul-Jabbar Jaden Akins, Michigan StateAce Bailey, Rutgers Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State Oumar Ballo, IndianaNate Bittle, Oregon Frankie Fidler, Michigan State Dawson Garcia, MinnesotaJa'Kobi Gillespie, Maryland Vladislav Goldin, Michigan Dylan Harper, RutgersKasparas Jukcionis, Illinois Meechie Johnson Jr., Ohio StateTrey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue William Kyle III, UCLA Fletcher Loyer, PurdueNick Martinelli, Northwestern Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana Great Osobor, Washington Derik Queen, Maryland Julian Reese, Maryland Malik Reneau, Indiana Myles Rice, Indiana Will Riley, Illinois Payton Sandfort, Iowa Jackson Shelstad, Oregon Braden Smith, Purdue Bruce Thornton, Ohio StateJohn Tonje, WisconsinDanny Wolf, Michigan
Preseason All-American teams PlayerAPCBSFox SportsBraden Smith, PurdueRV2nd team2nd teamAce Bailey, RutgersRVOumar Ballo, Indiana2nd team
Regular season 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 APRVRV25RV19RVRV24221319171823RVRVRVRV24RVC242020RV17RVRV22201520172025RVRVRV25RV Indiana AP17161614RVRVRVRVRVRVC18161815RVRVRVRV Iowa APC Maryland APRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV18252016131111CRVRVRVRVRVRVRV24RVRVRVRV24252015141112 Michigan APRVRVRVRV1424RVRV242021RV24201215172214C231421RVRV241920RV22171213152115 Michigan State APRVRVRVRVRV21201818161287911148878CRVRVRVRV2519191815141287911138767 Minnesota APC Nebraska APRVRVRVRVCRVRVRV Northwestern APC Ohio State APRV21RVRVRVRVRVCRV22RVRVRV Oregon APRVRVRVRV1212109915131516RVRVRV2325CRVRVRVRV1012109917131518RVRVRVRVRVRV Penn State APRVRVRVRVRVRVCRVRVRVRVRV Purdue AP141361381116212020171110771320182022C131261271117252219151210771419182022 Rutgers AP252424CRV24RVRV UCLA AP22RVRV2418221522RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVC22RVRVRV2118211821RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV USC APC Washington APC Wisconsin APRVRV19151120RVRVRVRV24181721161111121813CRV25171122RVRVRVRV191719151112121410
Players of the week Throughout the conference regular season, the Big Ten offices will name 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 11, 2024Nick Martinelli, NorthwesternWill Riley, IllinoisNovember 18, 2024John Tonje, WisconsinDylan Harper, RutgersNovember 25, 2024John Tonje (2), WisconsinDerik Queen, MarylandDecember 2, 2024Trey Kaufman-Renn, PurdueDylan Harper (2), RutgersDecember 9, 2024Vladislav Goldin, MichiganDerik Queen (2), MarylandDecember 16, 2024Brice Williams, NebraskaKasparas Jakučionis, Illinois Dylan Harper (3), RutgersDecember 23, 2024Bruce Thornton, Ohio StateJohn Mobley Jr., Ohio StateJanuary 6, 2025Braden Smith, PurdueKasparas Jakučionis (2), Illinois Ace Bailey, RutgersJanuary 13, 2025Payton Sandfort, IowaWesley Yates III, USCVladislav Goldin (2), MichiganJanuary 20, 2025Trey Kaufman-Renn (2), PurdueAce Bailey (2), RutgersJanuary 27, 2025Dawson Garcia, MinnesotaDerik Queen (3), MarylandFebruary 3, 2025Brice Williams (2), NebraskaWill Riley (2), IllinoisFebruary 10, 2025Trey Kaufman-Renn (3), PurdueWill Riley (3), Illinois Derik Queen (4), MarylandFebruary 17, 2025John Tonje (3), WisconsinDerik Queen (5), MarylandFebruary 24, 2025Nate Bittle, OregonJase Richardson, Michigan StateMarch 3, 2025Nick Martinelli (2), NorthwesternJase Richardson (2), Michigan StateMarch 10, 2025D’Marco Dunn, Penn StateJase Richardson (3), Michigan State
Early season tournaments Of the 18 Big Ten teams, 13 will participate in early season tournaments.
Team Tournament FinishIndianaBattle 4 Atlantis7thMichiganFort Myers Tip-Off1stMichigan StateMaui Invitational3rdMinnesotaESPN Events Invitational4thNebraskaDiamond Head Classic1stNorthwesternArizona Tip-Off3rdOregonPlayers Era Festival1stPenn StateSunshine Slam2ndPurdueRady Children's Invitational1stRutgersPlayers Era Festival6thUSCAcrisure Classic4thWashingtonAcrisure Invitational1stWisconsinGreenbrier Tip-Off1st
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.
vs. Illinois – 0–10–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–10–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 vs. Indiana 1–0 –1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–0 0–21–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 vs. Iowa 1–0 0–1– 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–11–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 vs. Maryland 0–1 0–10–1 – 0–0 1–0 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–11–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 vs. Michigan 1–0 0–10–1 1–0 – 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–11–1 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 vs. Michigan St 0–2 1–00–1 0–1 0–2 – 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–10–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 vs. Minnesota 1–0 1–00–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 – 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–11–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 vs. Nebraska 0–1 0–12–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 – 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–01–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 vs. Northwestern 1–1 0–11–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 – 0–1 1–0 1–01–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 vs. Ohio State 1–0 2–00–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 – 1–0 0–10–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 vs. Oregon 1–0 0–10–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 – 0–11–0 0–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 0–1 vs. Penn State 1–0 2–01–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 –0–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 vs. Purdue 1–0 1–10–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0– 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 vs. Rutgers 0–1 1–01–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–12–0 – 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 vs. UCLA 1–0 0–10–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 0–11–0 1–0 – 0–2 0–2 0–1 vs. USC 0–1 1–00–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 0–11–0 1–0 2–0 – 0–2 1–0 vs. Washington 1–0 1–01–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–11–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 – 1–0 vs. Wisconsin 1–1 0–10–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–10–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 – Total 12–810–107–1314–614–617–37–137–137–139–1112–86–1413–78–1213–77–134–1613–7 Final conference records
All-Big Ten awards and teams On March 11, 2025, the Big Ten announced most of its conference awards.