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Illinois favorite, Ohio State 8th in Dispatch preseason media poll
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- Illinois favorite, Ohio State 8th in Dispatch preseason media poll
Illinois is the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten, edging out Michigan State and Michigan in the 10th annual The Columbus Dispatch 2026-27 Big Ten Men's Basketball Preseason Media Poll.
In the poll, which featured 28 voters from across the league, the Fighting Illini earned 18 first-place votes and finished with 498 total points, ahead of No. 2 Michigan State with nine first-place votes and 483 total points. Reigning national champion Michigan, which lost coach Dusty May to the NBA during the spring, is third with 436 points. The Wolverines received one first-place vote.
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The Fighting Illini and Spartans were each picked to finish first or second on all but one ballot.
Entering the third year of the Jake Diebler era, Ohio State received 324 points, putting the Buckeyes at No. 8 in the preseason poll. That put them behind No. 7 USC with 340 points and ahead of No. 9 Indiana at 292.
Illinois and Michigan State each shared prominently among the preseason superlatives. Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was a unanimous first-team all-league pick and a runaway pick for preseason player of the year, receiving 23 of 28 possible votes after earning first-team all-league and second-team all-America honors as a sophomore. Illinois guard Stefan Vaaks, who played at Providence last season and averaged 15.8 and 3.2 assists per game, was voted the league's preseason transfer player of the year.
Ohio State's Anthony Thompson was voted the league's freshman of the year. He is the highest-rated player to sign with the Buckeyes since Jared Sullinger in 2010 and edged out UCLA's Nikola Kusturica for the preseason award. The Buckeyes received two votes as high as third place and one as low as 13th.
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Fears is joined on the preseason first team by Nebraska's Pryce Sandfort, Illinois' David Mirkovic and Michigan's Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney.
Ohio State Buckeyes guard John Mobley Jr. (0) dribbles past Illinois Fighting Illini guard Keaton Wagler (23) during the first half of the NCAA men's basketball game in Columbus on Dec. 9, 2025.
Wisconsin's Nolan Winter leads the second-team all-Big Ten picks, ahead of Ohio State's John Mobley Jr., USC's Rodney Rice, Illinois' Andrej Stojakovic and Indiana's Aiden Sherrell.
Rutgers and Penn State are expected to hold up the bottom of the standings. The Scarlet Knights, who are without coach Steve Pikiell as he battles cancer, were picked to finish 17th with 68 points while Penn State received 22 of 28 possible last-place votes and earned 35 points.
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Here are the full voting results.
Big Ten standings (first-place votes in parenthesis)
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1. Illinois, 498 (18)
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2. Michigan State, 483 (9)
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3. Michigan, 436 (1)
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4. UCLA, 375
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5. Nebraska, 369
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6. Purdue, 347
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7. USC, 340
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8. Ohio State, 324
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9. Indiana, 292
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10. Iowa, 264
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11. Wisconsin, 240
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12. Maryland, 203
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13. Minnesota, 168
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14. Oregon, 147
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15. Washington, 116
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16. Northwestern, 88
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17. Rutgers, 68
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18. Penn State, 35
Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State (23). Also receiving votes: David Mirkovic, Illinois (4), Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska (1).
Big Ten Freshman of the Year
Anthony Thompson, Ohio State (15). Also receiving votes: Nikola Kusturica, UCLA (9), Quentin Coleman, Illinois; Christian Collins, USC; Luke Ertel, Purdue; Baba Oladotun, Maryland (1).
Big Ten Transfer of the Year
Stefan Vaaks, Illinois (12). Also receiving votes: Markus Burton, Indiana, Aiden Sherrell, Indiana (5); Moustapha Thiam, Michigan, (4); Jaylen Petty, UCLA, Malique Ewin, Oregon (1).
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First-team All-Big Ten
Note: Unanimous selections in all caps. Players received two points for a first-team selection and one point for a second-team selection.
JEREMY FEARS JR., Michigan State (54); Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska (52); David Mirkovic, Illinois (51); Elliot Cadeau, Michigan (48); Trey McKenney, Michigan (29).
Second-team All-Big Ten
Nolan Winter, Wisconsin (25); John Mobley Jr., Ohio State (24); Rodney Rice, USC, Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois (14); Aiden Sherrell, Indiana (12)
Also receiving votes: Pharrell Payne, Maryland (11); Trent Perry, UCLA; Stefan Vaaks, Illinois, (8); Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois; Nikola Kusturica, UCLA (7); Markus Burton, Indiana (6); Moustapha Thiam, Michigan (5); Alijah Arenas, USC; Coen Carr, Michigan State; Braden Frager, Nebraska (4); Cade Tyson, Minnesota (3); Malique Ewin, Oregon; Caden Pierce, Purdue; Anthony Thompson, Ohio State (2); Jacob Cofie, USC; Tariq Francis, Rutgers; Zvonimir Ivisic, Illinois; KJ Lewis, USC; Baba Oladotun, Maryland; Jaylen Petty, UCLA; Tate Sage, Iowa; Wesley Yates, Washington (1).
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Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com , on Bluesky at @ cdadamjardy.bsky.social , on Instagram at @ cdadamjardy or on Twitter at @ AdamJardy .
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Illinois favorite, Ohio State 8th in Dispatch preseason media poll
