Where Niko Medved’s first Gophers team stacks up in the Big Ten

We're about two weeks from officially tipping off the 2025-26 men's college basketball season. It's a new era for the Gophers with first-year head coach Niko Medved, so let's break down where Minnesota stacks up among Big Ten teams this season.

If you missed the preseason Big Ten media poll earlier this month, the Gophers came in at No. 16 out of 18 teams. For the sake of this exercise, we're going to tier all 18 teams in the conference, and see where we differentiate from the consensus.

My official 2025-26 B1G MBB tiers. Where am I wrong?

Final 4 or bust
1. Purdue

B1G Title contenders
2. Michigan
3. UCLA
4. Illinois

Sweet 16 potential
5. Oregon
6. Wisconsin
7. Illinois

NCAAT Teams
8. Michigan State
9. Indiana
10. USC
11. Nebraska
12. Washington

Frisky
13.… pic.twitter.com/ymWe2d9p0y
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) October 20, 2025

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Final Four or bust: Purdue

Led by returning conference player of the year Braden Smith, Purdue has the best roster in the conference. Trey Kaufman-Renn averaged more than 20 points per game last season, and he's not even the best player on his team. The Boilermakers are in a tier of their own heading into 2025-26.

Big Ten Title contenders: Michigan, UCLA, Illinois

Michigan, UCLA and Illinois all had impressive offseasons in the transfer portal. UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg could wind up being the biggest addition of the offseason for Michigan. UCLA added New Mexico transfer guard Donovan Dent, who averaged more than 20 points per game on a team that won an NCAA Tournament game last season. Illinois' roster looks like it could compete in the EuroLeague with plenty of international flavor.

Ultimately, Dusty May, Mick Cronin and Brad Underwood are three of the best head coaches in the conference, and I expect all three of their teams to give Purdue all it can handle in the race for the Big Ten crown.

Sweet 16 potential: Oregon, Wisconsin, Iowa

Oregon, Wisconsin and Iowa all have the level of rosters that could make serious noise in March, but they might not have the top-end talent of the teams above them. I could see all three teams having stretches where they look like Big Ten contenders, but I don't know if they have enough firepower for me to trust them in a tournament setting.

NCAA Tournament teams: Michigan State, Indiana, USC, Nebraska, Washington

The Big Ten is routinely among the deepest conferences in the country and this year is no different. This tier features teams that can beat anyone on any given night, but also lose to anyone on any given night. Michigan State lacks an all-conference player, Indiana might be one year away, USC might be too chaotic, Nebraska is underrated and Washington might still be one year away.

Frisky: Minnesota, Northwestern, Maryland, Ohio State

The Gophers land in the frisky tier of teams in 2025-26. That means they will have some results that catch your eye, and they might knock off a ranked team here and there. But there might also be some moments where they struggle against lower-level competition. These teams have the talent to be competitive in the conference, but I don't expect them to play deep into March.

Bad: Penn State, Rutgers

Like any Big Ten list you will find heading into the season, Penn State and Rutgers are the two worst teams on my list. They simply don't have the talent to compete in a loaded conference.