Still-Too-Early Big Ten Basketball 2026-27 Power Rankings: Is Illinois No. 1?

OK, it’s still really early. The calendar just flipped to June and the 2026-27 college basketball regular season remains more than five months away. But since our last way-too-early Big Ten power rankings – which was a comprehensive 18-team ranking in late April – there have been a few major roster developments across the league.

And it wasn’t until last Wednesday night that the NBA withdrawal deadline officially passed, ensuring that almost every key piece of the puzzle is back in place for the Big Ten’s premier squads. With that in mind, we offer a deep dive into our still-too-early 2026-27 Big Ten top five:

Big Ten basketball early 2026-27 preseason top five

Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts in the second half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

No. 5: UCLA

In 2025-26, UCLA fell short of expectations – yet it still managed to finish sixth in a stacked Big Ten. This time around, the Bruins have Trent Perry with another year of experience, along with forwards Eric Dailey Jr. and Xavier Booker, giving coach Mick Cronin one of the best returning trios in the league.

Transfer Jaylen Petty (Texas Tech) was one of the best guard pickups in the portal, and Filip Jovic (Auburn) and Azavier Robinson (Butler) were also notable gets for UCLA. The Bruins will once again be talented, and Cronin, despite his – we’ll go with ... unique? – tendencies, is a brilliant coach.

No. 4: Purdue

Mar 28, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter reacts in the first half against the Arizona Wildcats during an Elite Eight game of the West Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

We get it: Braden Smith is no longer a Boilermaker. Nor is Fletcher Loyer or Trey Kaufman-Renn. But guess who is? Princeton transfer Caden Pierce. He is rated the No. 401 overall transfer by 247Sports, which, put non-profanely, is absolute blasphemy.

The do-it-all 6-foot-6 Pierce was the Ivy League Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2023-24 (when he averaged 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals while leading his conference at 54.6 percent from the field) before taking a slight step backwards in 2024-25 and then redshirting this past season.

With Pierce in the mix and incoming freshman lead guard Luke Ertel, the Boilermakers have new weapons, not to mention a handful of proven ones in guards C.J. Cox, Gicarri Harris, Jack Benter and Omer Mayer, along with big man Daniel Jacobsen. And, of course, mastermind Matt Painter is still pulling all the strings.

No. 3: Michigan State

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talks with guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) in the second half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

It feels borderline illegal to slot the Spartans at No. 3, but the next two squads are that good. Michigan State brings back 65.2 percent of its minutes, headlined by the most important returnee in the country: Jeremy Fears Jr., who pulled his name from the NBA Draft at the last minute before Wednesday’s deadline.

Their contributions will manifest themselves in a different manner, but Cam Ward and Jesse McCulloch can fill the voids left by the departures of big men Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper fairly seamlessly. Coen Carr, Kur Teng and Jordan Scott are each a year older. Michigan State – which finished third in the Big Ten and had a Sweet 16 appearance a year ago – is just a more experienced version of its 2025-26 self.

And the 2026 recruiting class is superb. Jasiah Jervis and Ethan Taylor can both be Day 1 contributors – the former of whom has the ability to be a star – and the arrival of Carlos Medlock Jr. finally gives the Spartans a legitimate backup point guard. Coach Tom Izzo can be counted to on, as usual, to pull the crew together into a tactical, physical, defensive-minded force.

No. 2: Michigan

Michigan head coach Dusty May talks to guard Elliot Cadeau (3) before a play against Saint Louis during the first half of NCAA Tournament Second Round at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Saturday, March 21, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Where Michigan State retained, Michigan lost – but bolstered via the transfer portal. And after the Wolverines won a national championship essentially through the portal a year ago, we can't overlook Dusty May and this UM squad.

Also, returning Elliot Cadeau is huge. The perimeter attack of Cadeau, rising sophomore Trey McKenney and incoming five-star Brandon McCoy Jr. is going to be a three-headed monster. As for the frontcourt, it will be up to May to again mesh new contributors together, as both J.P. Estrella (Tennessee) and Moustapha Thiam (Cincinnati) are big portal finds. But given May’s track record and the proven ability of both Estrella and Thiam, there's no reason to overthink it.

What will be interesting, though, is how the depth rounds out for the Wolverines. With L.J. Cason redshirting next season, Michigan will be forced to rely very heavily on incoming freshmen – especially Joseph Hartman, Lincoln Cosby and Quinn Costello – to be instant-impact players (redshirt freshman Ricky Liburd is also someone to keep an eye on).

No. 1: Illinois

Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward David Mirkovic (0) drives to the basket against UConn Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) during the first half of a semifinal of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

"The Retention," as the Illini themselves have dubbed it, is officially complete with Andrej Stojakovic pulling his name from the NBA Draft pool last Wednesday. But what has been glossed over about Illinois’ offseason are the losses: not just Keaton Wagler, but also both Kylan Boswell and Ben Humrichous.

Any worries about the fallout, however, were mostly quelled by the addition of Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks and the growing belief that incoming freshman Quentin Coleman can pick up much of the slack Wagler leaves behind at point guard.

Illinois returns its entire frontcourt, and the sophomore leap from big man David Mirkovic could be colossal. The rest of the returnees have mostly cemented roles, but just imagine how good the Illini can be if Stojakovic’s jumper comes around.

The lone question: Which incoming freshman will fill out the rotation? We know that Coleman will play a key role for the Illini in some manner, but Brad Underwood and his staff will likely need one (and perhaps two) more immediate contributors out of their freshman class. But with four other players in the mix and given Underwood’s proven talent-evaluation ability, odds are the only problem Illinois will face is not having enough minutes to go around.

Add us as a preferred source on Google