Detroit News Big Ten Power Rankings: Post-NBA Draft Deadline Edition

Go through the gallery above to view The Detroit News Power Rankings: Post NBA-Draft Deadline Edition for the 2020-21 college basketball season. Click here if you have trouble viewing the gallery.

It was a busy stretch last week for players from the Big Ten who were contemplating a jump to the NBA Draft.

Stay or go. It had been on the mind of many over the summer, including a handful of players from both Michigan and Michigan State. That deadline came and went on Monday and now we have a better idea of what the conference rosters will look like when the season is scheduled to begin some three months from now.

What better time to take a stab at some preseason rankings?

Expectations will be through the roof at places like Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois while three-time defending conference champion Michigan State enters a new era after the departure of two of its most important players. Michigan enters the second year of the Juwan Howard era while Rutgers and Ohio State will almost certainly be in the championship hunt.

Now is the time for Archie Miller to start making things happen at Indiana while Patrick Chambers hopes to build on what would have been an NCAA Tournament berth last year at Penn State. Purdue and Maryland must overcome their share of losses while Minnesota, Northwestern and Nebraska could be facing long seasons.

There’s no telling if teams will be playing in November or if more of a conference-only model will be followed after the first of the year. Either way, this is how we are slotting the Big Ten’s teams before the first ball is tipped.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau