Welcome back to “You’re Nuts”, 24-team edition!
Sorry, too soon?
Welcome back to another college basketball edition of Land-Grant’s weekly debate series, “You’re Nuts”, where our basketball writers pick an Ohio State basketball-related or general college basketball-related topic and defend their respective sides.
The Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball broadcast and tip time information came out over the past week. While that news isn’t going to shake the ground for many people, we will point out four months in advance that you’re not a real fan if you don’t stay awake for 11:00 p.m. ET tipoff time against UCLA on Wednesday, February 17.
Thanks a bunch, conference realignment!
Last week, the guys debated who would will win the Big Ten Player of the Year award this season on the men’s side. While not a shock, neither of the guys picked an Ohio State player.
Justin went with Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears, who was also voted Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year in the unofficial Big Ten media poll conducted by the Columbus Dispatch. Connor picked Illinois small forward Andrej Stojakovic, because he thinks he will be the best player on the Big Ten’s best team.
This week, the guys are once again making a Big Ten-related prediction – the league champion. Spoiler alert: the two players discussed last week will be very relevant to this week’s discussion, too.
This week’s question: Who will win the Big Ten this season?
Connor: Illinois
All signs currently point to Illinois being the best team in the Big Ten this season, and potentially the best team in the country.
If we look on the metrics side, KenPom has the Fighting Illini at No. 4, which is the highest of any Big Ten team. KenPom is projecting Illinois to be the second-best offensive team in the country this year, behind Florida, and the No. 22 defensive team.
Both Haslametrics and EvanMiya have Illinois at No. 3 nationally, which (obviously) is also the highest rating for any Big Ten team. EvanMiya also has Illinois as the No. 1 offensive team in the country.
Not that everyone cares, but Illinois is also the betting favorite to win the Big Ten (on DraftKings) at +144. There’s a decent gap, and then Michigan State is second at +465, followed by Nebraska at +730. If you were wondering, Ohio State has the sixth-highest odds at +1300.
Why is Illinois such a heavy favorite? To start, they’ve got two guys in David Mirkovic and Andrej Stojakovic who could easily win conference player of the year and dominate on any given night. Mirkovic is a 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward who averaged 13 points, eight rebounds, and shot 38% from three-point range last season.
Stojakovic is a 6-foot-7, 205-pound forward who averaged 13.5 points per game last season on 50% shooting. His three-point shooting fell off a cliff a little bit from previous years, but he shot 58.3% on two-point field goals, which was a career-high for him.
They also added one of the better transfer players in the whole country, 6-foot-7 guard Stefan Vaaks, who averaged 15.8 points per game last year at Providence.
On top of all that, maybe the least talked about guy on the team is Quentin Coleman. Coleman will probably start for the Illini – he’s a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard, an Illinois- native, and a top-20 player in the 2026 recruiting class.
So to recap, Illinois very well may have the Big Ten Player of the Year, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and the best transfer player in the Big Ten. Not bad.
Justin: Michigan State
They say that defense wins championships, and I am banking on that with this pick.
Don’t get me wrong, the Spartans have weapons on offense, and their point guard is one of the best players in the country, but if Michigan State wins the Big Ten, it will be behind its elite defense.
According to KenPom, Michigan State is No. 7 overall, No. 20 in offensive rating, and No. 5 in defensive rating. Only Houston, Iowa State, Duke, and Arizona are rated higher in defensive rating. This should be a top-five defense in the country, and if they pair that with a top-25 offense, they will be a force in the conference and nationally.
I think Illinois and Michigan State are both on the top tier in the Big Ten, and no one is on that tier with them. Jeremy Fears is one of the best players in the country, and Cam Ward and Jordan Scott are both due to take big leaps in their sophomore season. Coen Carr is a veteran who can do it all.
The biggest question mark is Anton Bonke, the 7-foot-2 transfer center from Charlotte. If he comes in and can play at a high level right away, this is a top-five team in the country.