Big Ten basketball preseason power rankings: Where do the former Pac-12 teams fit in?

• Key returning players: Franck Kepnang, Wilhelm Breidenbach
• Key losses: Keion Brooks, Sahvir Wheeler, Moses Wood, Koren Johnson, Paul Mulchany, Braxton Meah
• Incoming notable transfers: Great Osobor, DJ Davis, Tyler Harris, Luis Kortright, Mekhi Mason, Tyree Ihenacho
• Incoming top 150 recruits: Zoom Diallo, Jase Butler

New Washington basketball head coach Danny Sprinkle had work to be done when he accepted the job this past spring. The pivotal losses in Keion Brooks and Sahvir Wheeler will be a tough blow for Sprinkle, however, Washington garnered enough NIL to get Great Osobor to follow his coach from Utah State to Seattle. Sprinkle also nabbed guard DJ Davis in the portal, and he and Osobor will be a great duo to watch in this conference. However, besides those two, the roster lacks stability. Other transfers like Mekhi Mason and Tyree Ihenacho scored fourteen points per game for their previous programs, but it’s a big step up for them to the Big Ten. Osobor will be one of the best players in college basketball next season, but Washington’s role players will likely not be able to support him as they steer toward a bottom-four finish in the conference.

• Key returning players: Dawson Garcia, Mike Mitchell, Parker Fox
• Key losses: Cam Christie, Elijah Hawkins, Pharrel Payne, Joshua Ola-Joseph
• Incoming notable transfers: Femi Odukale, Lu’Cye Patterson, Brennan Rigsby, Frank Mitchell, Tyler Cochran
• Incoming top 150 recruits: Isaac Asuma

It was not a great offseason for Ben Johnson’s team, as they lost four key contributors Cam Christie, Elijah Hawkins, Pharrel Payne, and Joshua Ola-Joseph. Those will be tough holes to fill, and Johnson did attempt to through the transfer portal. In the recruiting department, they signed Isaac Asuma, a near top 100 recruit in the 2024 class. He will seemingly have an immediate impact on a team that is looking for answers. On the bright side, they kept star player Dawson Garcia, and he was named to the All-Big Ten preseason team by the media. Johnson was also able to retain Mike Mitchell and Parker Fox, who will need to both take big leaps for the Golden Gophers to be competitive in the conference.