Big Ten basketball preseason media poll: Where was Illinois picked?

The Illinois basketball team will be among the best in the Big Ten Conference, while Purdue will repeat as the conference’s elite men’s basketball team, according to a media preseason poll released Wednesday.

Illinois was tabbed to finish fourth in the 2024-25 season, in a poll that saw five teams draw first-place votes and the top five-ranked teams finish within a span of just 114 points.

Purdue was picked No. 1 on 20 of the 33 ballots cast. Indiana was second, only 13 points behind, followed by UCLA and Illinois. Michigan State rounded out the top five.

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The Illini did not have any players place on the preseason all-Big Ten first- and second-team lineups, nor on any of the special categories for Big Ten Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year or Transfer of the Year.

Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis was among others receiving votes for Freshman of the Year, while Kylan Boswell was among others receiving votes for Transfer of the Year.

Big Ten basketball 2024-25 preseason media poll

(First-places votes in parentheses)

Big Ten preseason Player of the Year

Braden Smith, Purdue (27)

Also receiving votes: Oumar Ballo, Indiana, Ace Bailey, Rutgers (2); Kobe Johnson, UCLA (1), Payton Sandfort, Iowa (1).

Big Ten preseason Freshman of the Year

Dylan Harper, Rutgers (19.5).

Also receiving votes: Ace Bailey, Rutgers (12.5); Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (1).

Big Ten preseason Transfer of the Year

Oumar Ballo, Indiana (17).

Also receiving votes: Great Osobor, Washington, Myles Rice, Indiana (4); Vlad Goldin, Michigan (3); Kylan Boswell, Illinois, (2); Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA, Ja’Kobe Gillespie, Maryland, Saint Thomas, USC (1).

2024-25 all-Big Ten basketball preseason teams

First-team preseason All-Big Ten team

• Braden Smith, Purdue (64)

• Payton Sandford, Iowa (48)

• Oumar Ballo, Indiana (47)

• Bruce Thornton, Ohio State (34)

• Dylan Harper, Rutgers (32)

Second-team preseason All-Big Ten team

• Jackson Shelstad, Oregon (30)

• Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State (26)

• Great Osobor, Washington (26)

• Ace Bailey, Rutgers (25)

• Dawson Garcia, Minnesota (23)

Also receiving votes: Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern, Malik Reneau, Indiana (19); Mackenzie Mgbako and Myles Rice, Indiana (13); Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (12); Vlad Goldin, Michigan (11); Desmond Claude, USC, Julian Reese, Maryland (7); Dylan Andrews, UCLA (6); Brice Williams, Nebraska (5); Jaden Akins, Michigan State, Kylan Boswell, Illinois (4); Xavier Booker, Michigan State, Kobe Johnson, UCLA (3); Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA, Frankie Fidler, Michigan State, Owen Freeman, Iowa, Ja’Kobe Gillespie, Maryland, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue, Saint Thomas, USC (2); Meechie Johnson, Ohio State, Fletcher Loyer, Purdue, Sebastian Mack, UCLA (1).

Illinois basketball schedule 2024-25

The Illini will open the Big Ten portion of their schedule with a road game at Northwestern on Dec. 6 and a conference home opener against Wisconsin on Dec. 10. For the seventh straight year, Big Ten teams will compete in a 20-game conference schedule.

Illinois basketball 2024-25 schedule: See who, when Fighting Illini play this season

• With the addition of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington, the new 18-team scheduling format calls for each school to play three teams both home and away, and 14 teams once (seven home and seven away).

• Three teams Illinois plays twice (home and away): Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin.

• Seven teams Illinois plays only at home: Iowa, Maryland, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA, USC.

• Seven teams Illinois plays only on the road: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Rutgers, Washington.

• Illinois plays nine league games against teams that participated in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Big Ten basketball 2024-25 preseason media poll, All-Big 10 teams