The 2026–27 Big Ten men's basketball season is for the Big Ten Conference in the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The teams will begin practicing in October 2026 and will start the season in November 2026. The regular season will conclude in March 2027.
Michigan is the defending regular season champions. The Wolverines are also the defending national champions.
Head coaches Coaching changes Michigan On June 23, 2026, Michigan head coach Dusty May left the school to become the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Assistant coach Mike Boynton was named the interim coach and, on July 2, signed a two-year contract to be the team's head coach.
On October 7, 2026 Dana Altman announced his retirement after 17 seasons at Oregon. He finished his career at Oregon with a 382–182 record, ten NCAA tournaments and one final four appearance in 2017. Oregon assistant coach Tony Stubblefield was promoted to interim head coach.
Coaches TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordBig Ten recordBig Ten titlesBig Ten tournament titlesNCAA TournamentsNCAA Final FoursNCAA ChampionshipsIllinoisOklahoma State1012610IndianaDarian DeVriesWest Virginia200000IowaBen McCollumDrake200100Maryland200000Michigan100000Michigan StateTom Izzo321162881MinnesotaNiko MedvedColorado State200000NebraskaFred HoibergChicago Bulls800200NorthwesternChris Collins1400300Ohio StateJake Diebler400100OregonTony Stubblefield100000Penn StateMike RhoadesVCU400000PurdueMatt Painter22531610RutgersSteve PikiellStony Brook1100200UCLAMick CroninCincinnati800510USCEric MusselmanArkansas300000WashingtonDanny SprinkleUtah State300000WisconsinGreg Gard1220800 Notes:
All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time as head coach with current school only. Year at school includes 2026–27 season. Overall and Big Ten records are from time as head coach 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 5, 2026.
RankTeam1Illinois2Michigan State3Michigan4UCLA5Nebraska6Purdue7USC8Ohio State9Indiana10Iowa11Wisconsin12Maryland13Minnesota14Oregon15Washington16Northwestern17Rutgers18Penn State
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 YearJeremy Fears Jr., Michigan StatePreseason All-Big Ten TeamElliot Cadeau, MichiganJeremy Fears Jr., Michigna StateTrey McKenney, MichiganDavid Mirkovic, IllinoisJohn Mobley Jr., Ohio StatePharrell Payne, MarylandTrent Perry, UCLARodney Rice, USCAndrej Stojakovic, IllinoisNolan Winter, Wisconsin
Preseason national polls
AP Blue RibbonYearbook CBS Sports Coaches ESPN FOX Sports Lindy'sSports Sporting NewsSports IllustratedIllinois 2 Indiana 19 Iowa Maryland Michigan 3 Michigan State 7 Minnesota Nebraska 23 Northwestern Ohio State 24 Oregon Penn State Purdue Rutgers UCLA USC 13 Washington Wisconsin
Regular season
Early season tournaments Source: TeamTournamentFinishMarylandPlayers Era Festival (Players Era 16)MichiganPlayers Era Festival (Players Era 16)MinnesotaCharleston ClassicNorthwesternCharleston ClassicOregonPlayers Era Festival (Players Era 16)Penn StateBattle 4 Atlantis (Bracket 1)PurdueFort Myers Tip-Off (Beach Division)RutgersPlayers Era Festival (Players Era 8)USCAcrisure SeriesUCLARady Children's InvitationalWashingtonMaui InvitationalWisconsinBahamas Championship
References