The 2017–18 Big Ten men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the
2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2017. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season ended with the Final Four in San Antonio on April 2, 2018. Practices officially began on September 2 ...
in November. The
2018 Big Ten tournament was held at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Due to the
Big East
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
's use of that venue for the
2018 Big East tournament, the Big Ten tournament took place one week earlier than usual, ending the week before Selection Sunday.
As a result, the conference season began on December 1, 2017 and concluded on February 25, 2018.
Each team played one road game and one home conference game in the first week of December.
With a win over
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
on February 25, 2018,
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
clinched the outright Big Ten championship, their eighth under
Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo (, ); born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Izzo has led the Spart ...
.
The Big Ten tournament was held from February 28 through March 4, 2018 at Madison Square Garden.
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
defeated
Purdue
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
to win its second consecutive tournament. As a result, the Wolverines received the conference's automatic bid to the
NCAA tournament. Four Big Ten schools (Michigan, Michigan State,
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
, and Purdue) were invited to the NCAA tournament, the fewest Big Ten teams selected for the Tournament since
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
. Michigan was the National Runner-up, losing to
Villanova in the
NCAA championship game.
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
and
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
received invitations to the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...
.
Penn State won the NIT championship.
[
Ohio State forward ]Keita Bates-Diop
Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Early life and high school car ...
was named Big Ten Player of the Year. Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann
Christopher Adam Holtmann (born November 11, 1971) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at Ohio State University.
Holtmann grew up in Nicholasville, Kentucky, and started his college playing career in-state a ...
was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.[ Bates-Diop and Michigan State forward ]Miles Bridges
Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...
were consensus All-Americans
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
, while Purdue guard Carsen Edwards
Carsen Cade Edwards (born March 12, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, where he was twice name ...
earned second and third team All-American recognition. Edwards won the Jerry West Award
The Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate shooting guard. The award is named after former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, ...
.
The season also marked the last time the conference played an 18-game conference schedule. The 2018–19 season marked the first time in Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
history that the teams will play a 20-game conference schedule.
Head coaches
Coaching changes
On March 11, 2017, Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
fired head coach John Groce
John Gordon Groce (; born September 7, 1971) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach for the Akron Zips men's basketball team. Prior to coaching for Akron, he was the head coach at Illinois and Ohio.
Coaching career
P ...
. On March 18, the school hired Brad Underwood
Bradley Cole Underwood (born December 14, 1963) is the current head coach for the Illinois men's basketball team. Previously, he served as head coach at Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin, Dodge City Community College, and Daytona Beach Community ...
as the new head coach.
On March 16, 2017, Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
fired Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to:
*Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor
*Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer
*Tom Crean (basketball)
Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...
after nine years as head coach. On March 25, 2017, the school hired Archie Miller as head coach.
On June 5, 2017, Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
announced that head coach Thad Matta
Thad Michael Matta (born July 11, 1967) is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team. From 2004 to 2017, Matta led the Ohio State Buckeyes to five Big Ten Conference regular seas ...
would not return as head coach after 13 years in Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
. On June 9, the school hired Chris Holtmann
Christopher Adam Holtmann (born November 11, 1971) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at Ohio State University.
Holtmann grew up in Nicholasville, Kentucky, and started his college playing career in-state a ...
as head coach.
Coaches
''Notes:''
* All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
* Year at school includes 2017–18 season.
* Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school and are through the end of the season.
* Turgeon's ACC conference record excluded since Maryland began Big Ten Conference play in 2014–15.
Preseason
Preseason All-Big Ten
Prior to the conference's annual media day, unofficial awards and a poll were chosen by a panel of 28 writers, two for each team in the conference. Michigan State was a unanimous selection to win the conference, receiving all 28 votes. The Spartans' Miles Bridges was also a unanimous selection for Preseason Player of the Year.
Preseason conference poll
Preseason All-Big Ten
On October 19, 2017, a panel of conference media selected a 10-member preseason All-Big Ten Team and Player of the Year.
Preseason watchlists
Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
Preseason national polls
Regular season
Rankings
Player of the week
Throughout the conference regular season, the Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday.
Early season tournaments
Eleven of the 14 Big Ten teams participated in early season tournaments. Each team's finish is noted below. Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, and Rutgers
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...
did not participate in a tournament. Eight Big Ten teams participated in the Gavitt Tip-Off Games against Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...
teams for the third consecutive year. All Big Ten teams participated in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge
The ACC–Big Ten Challenge (or Big Ten–ACC Challenge as it was called in alternating years) was an in-season NCAA Division I men's college basketball series that matched up teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Big Ten Confer ...
against Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
teams, the 19th year for the event.
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team played 18 conference games, and at least one game against each opponent.
Honors and awards
On January 9, 2018, Keita Bates-Diop was recognized as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers Association
The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball.
Scholarships
The USBWA annually awa ...
. On January 15, Purdue was named NCAA.com team of the Week. On February 26, Carsen Edwards was named NCAA.com National Player of the Week.
All-Big Ten awards and teams
On February 26, 2018, the Big Ten announced most of its conference awards.
USBWA
On March 6, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association released its 2017–18 Men's All-District Teams, based upon voting from its national membership. There were nine regions from coast to coast, and a player and coach of the year were selected in each. The following lists all the Big Ten representatives selected within their respective regions.
District II (NY, NJ, DE, DC, PA, WV)
*Tony Carr
Anthony Carr MBE (born 5 September 1950) is an English sports coach and former Director of Youth Development at the West Ham United football club's youth academy and is recognised as one of the most influential figures in English football. A fo ...
, Penn State
District III (VA, NC, SC, MD)
*none
District V (OH, IN, IL, MI, MN, WI)
Player of the Year
*Keita Bates-Diop
Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Early life and high school car ...
, Ohio State
Coach of the Year
*Chris Holtmann
Christopher Adam Holtmann (born November 11, 1971) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at Ohio State University.
Holtmann grew up in Nicholasville, Kentucky, and started his college playing career in-state a ...
, Ohio State
All-District Team
*Keita Bates-Diop
Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Early life and high school car ...
, Ohio State
*Miles Bridges
Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...
, Michigan State
*Carsen Edwards
Carsen Cade Edwards (born March 12, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, where he was twice name ...
, Purdue
* Vincent Edwards, Purdue
*Ethan Happ
Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB. He is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the ...
, Wisconsin
*Juwan Morgan
Juwan Christopher Morgan (born April 17, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Ontario Clippers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers.
Early life and high school career
Morgan is the son ...
, Indiana
*Moritz Wagner Moritz Wagner may refer to:
* Moritz Wagner (basketball) (born 1997), German professional basketball player
* Moritz Wagner (naturalist)
Moritz Wagner (Bayreuth, 3 October 1813 – Munich, 31 May 1887) was a German explorer, collector, geographer ...
, Michigan
*Cassius Winston
Cassius Winston (born February 28, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Bayern Munich of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans.
High school c ...
, Michigan State
District VI (IA, MO, KS, OK, NE, ND, SD)
* James Palmer Jr., Nebraska
NABC
The National Association of Basketball Coaches
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...
announced their Division I All-District teams on March 13, recognizing the nation's best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, the selections on this list were then eligible for NABC Coaches' All-America Honors. The following list represented the District 7 players chosen to the list.
;First Team
*Keita Bates-Diop
Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Early life and high school car ...
, Ohio State
*Miles Bridges
Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...
, Michigan State
*Carsen Edwards
Carsen Cade Edwards (born March 12, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, where he was twice name ...
, Purdue
* James Palmer Jr., Nebraska
*Tony Carr
Anthony Carr MBE (born 5 September 1950) is an English sports coach and former Director of Youth Development at the West Ham United football club's youth academy and is recognised as one of the most influential figures in English football. A fo ...
, Penn State
;Second Team
*Moritz Wagner Moritz Wagner may refer to:
* Moritz Wagner (basketball) (born 1997), German professional basketball player
* Moritz Wagner (naturalist)
Moritz Wagner (Bayreuth, 3 October 1813 – Munich, 31 May 1887) was a German explorer, collector, geographer ...
, Michigan
* Vincent Edwards, Purdue
*Ethan Happ
Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB. He is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the ...
, Wisconsin
*Isaac Haas
Isaac Haas (born October 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers.
High school career
Haas is the s ...
, Purdue
*Juwan Morgan
Juwan Christopher Morgan (born April 17, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Ontario Clippers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers.
Early life and high school career
Morgan is the son ...
, Indiana
Other awards
Keita Bates-Diop
Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Early life and high school car ...
(1st team), Miles Bridges
Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...
(2nd team) were selected as consensus 2018 All-American and Carsen Edwards
Carsen Cade Edwards (born March 12, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, where he was twice name ...
earned several All- American recognitions. Edwards won the Jerry West Award
The Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate shooting guard. The award is named after former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, ...
.
Postseason
Big Ten tournament
* denotes overtime period
NCAA tournament
The winner of the Big Ten tournament, Michigan, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
National Invitation tournament
Two Big Ten teams received invitations to the National Invitation Tournament: Nebraska and Penn State.[ Penn State won the championship.]
2018 NBA draft
The following All-Big Ten selections were listed as seniors: Ohio State's Jae'Sean Tate
Jae'Sean Tate (born October 28, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Conference. Tate is ...
, Purdue's Vincent Edwards and Isaac Haas
Isaac Haas (born October 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers.
High school career
Haas is the s ...
. Additionally, Michigan State's Miles Bridges
Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...
and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jaren Walter Jackson Jr. (born September 15, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. He was select ...
announced that they would enter the draft and sign with an agent. Penn State's Tony Carr
Anthony Carr MBE (born 5 September 1950) is an English sports coach and former Director of Youth Development at the West Ham United football club's youth academy and is recognised as one of the most influential figures in English football. A fo ...
also announced he would enter the draft and sign with and agent. Moritz Wagner Moritz Wagner may refer to:
* Moritz Wagner (basketball) (born 1997), German professional basketball player
* Moritz Wagner (naturalist)
Moritz Wagner (Bayreuth, 3 October 1813 – Munich, 31 May 1887) was a German explorer, collector, geographer ...
hired an agent. Several other players announced that they would test the draft process, but did not hire an agent, including Wisconsin's Ethan Happ
Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB. He is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the ...
, Purdue's Carsen Edwards
Carsen Cade Edwards (born March 12, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, where he was twice name ...
, Nebraska's James Palmer Jr., Michigan State's Nick Ward, Michigan's Charles Matthews, and Indiana's Juwan Morgan. These players all withdrew from the draft and returned to school.
Four 2017–18 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season players were drafted in the first round of the 2018 draft (Jaren Jackson Jr. — 4th, Bridges — 12th, Kevin Huerter
Kevin Joseph Huerter (; born August 27, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Red Velvet", he played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins.
...
— 19th, Wagner — 25th) and eight were drafted overall in the draft ( Justin Jackson — 43rd, Bates-Diop — 48th, Carr — 51st, Edwards — 52nd).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season