ILLINOIS #1
MICHIGAN STATE #2
MICHIGAN #3
4. UCLA
Last season: 24-12 (13-7), Round of 32
Coach: Mick Cronin, eighth season at UCLA. Cronin has a contract through 2030 and has been solid but not spectacular in his first seven years. The Bruins went 26-14 in their first two years in the Big Ten.
UCLA's projected starting five
The Bruins look poised to improve on last season's sixth-place finish in the Big Ten.
Jaylen Petty G So. 9.9 PPG, 2.2 APG Texas Tech Texas Tech
Trent Perry G Jr. 12.6 PPG, 2.8 APG UCLA UCLA
Nikola Kusturica G/F Fr. N/A FC Barcelona (Spain)
Eric Dailey Jr. G/F Sr. 11.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG UCLA UCLA
Xavier Booker F/C Sr. 7.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG UCLA UCLA
KEY PLAYER: Nikola Kusturica, who is just 17, is not eligible for the NBA Draft until 2028 and considered one of the top prospects in that class. He averaged 24.6 points per game this summer playing for Serbia in the under-17 World Cup.
STAT TO KNOW: Last year’s Bruins were Cronin’s best 3-point shooting team (37.9 percent) in his 23 years as a head coach. This team is also built to shoot the 3 with the addition of Jaylen Petty, who made 69 3s at a 37.5 percent clip as a freshman at Texas Tech.
WHY THEY ARE INTERESTING: Cronin returns a solid core with two big additions in Kusturica and Petty. The Bruins should be able to score. To get to the top of the Big Ten, they’ll need to play the kind of defense Cronin’s teams have been known for.