Big Ten Basketball Preview: Michigan State Leads an Intriguing Set of Conference Contenders Posted Nov 4, 2018 This year, the Big Ten is short on elite preseason contenders—the closest is Michigan State, which will probably start the year just inside or on the fringe of the top 10 nationally—but has the potential to be notably deeper. That could be an overall advantage for the league, which saw Nebraska go 13–5 in Big Ten play and win 22 games overall last year and yet not make the Big Dance. (Sports Illustrated)