Wednesday must have been rankings release day for popular college basketball expert Jon Rothstein who truly never takes a day off. He shared several lists on Wednesday, including his preseason Big Ten power rankings which had Illinois at No. 1.
His No. 2 team was surprising to a lot of people. None of those people reside in East Lansing.
Michigan State comes in at No. 2 on Rothstein’s preseason power rankings after seeing how the rosters and coaching staffs shook out. All Big Ten rosters are likely complete as of July 15, barring some very last-minute additions like a Donovan Dent, so Rothstein figured it was time to share his preseason power rankings.
Michigan fans, avert your eyes.
Big Ten Preseason Power Rankings. pic.twitter.com/vB4ZLUBMWm
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 15, 2026
Michigan State is the best team in the conference outside of Illinois, and while I think that’s even a debate, the Spartans are in the top two where they belong. Michigan will be a good, talented team, but the roster will be taking a major step back with Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson all gone.
I think you could even debate that Michigan will slip outside of the top 10 rankings on a national level before the season and you won’t get a ton of pushback by anyone outside of Ann Arbor.
As for Michigan State, it brings essentially all key players, other than Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, back from a 27-8 team that made the Sweet 16 and was a play or two away from a second straight Elite Eight. The Spartans return their All-American point guard who’s been dubbed the best player in college basketball by some experts, a freakishly athletic wing who projects as an NBA draft prospect, some sharpshooters, a transfer who missed the entire 2025-26 season, and they bring in a top-five recruiting class.
Yes, this is a top-two team in the Big Ten — and dare I say not No. 2?
Here’s how my preseason Big Ten power rankings look…
Since Rothstein gave his, I’m going to give my latest power rankings, just based purely on vibes and how excited I am to see them play this season (Michigan State and Illinois are basically 1A and 1B, but I’m limited in how I structure lists):
- Michigan State
- Illinois
- Michigan
- USC
- Nebraska
- UCLA
- Ohio State
- Purdue
- Wisconsin
- Iowa
- Indiana
- Oregon
- Minnesota
- Washington
- Maryland
- Northwestern
- Penn State
- Rutgers
Michigan State is my top Big Ten team before the season while Illinois is the Spartans’ 1B. Michigan is going to be in that top three all season as well, but USC and Nebraska are going to be right there, too. I just trust Fred Hoiberg more than I probably should and I see the Cornhuskers being surprisingly good yet again. This will also be the year that Eric Musselman figures it out at USC.
Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana (not a huge Ohio State believer yet but they have serious potential) are all going to be pests while the bottom 6-7 teams will look to play spoiler.
I’m sure everyone will agree with my rankings and I’ll get no hate for my opinion.
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