Big Ten basketball is finally here, college hoops fans! After a long offseason and the dog says of summer, the college basketball season returns on Monday, Nov. 6.

To start the season, 10 teams from the B1G will be in action with preseason No. 3 Purdue opening the year with a game against Samford. The final game of the evening will include No. 4 Michigan State with an 8:30 p.m. ET tip-off against James Madison.

As we get set for the season ahead, here is a look at Tradition’s B1G preseason power rankings heading into the 2023-24 campaign:

14. Minnesota

Dawson Garcia is a legit playmaker for Ben Johnson’s Golden Gopher program. Unfortunately, it’s tough to see where Minnesota finds buckets alongside Garcia after losing Jamison Battle and Ta’Lon Cooper.

13. Penn State

Few teams had more of a roller coaster offseason than Penn State. The departure of Micah Shrewsberry and the turnover of the roster under Mike Rhoades leave the Nittany Lions with too many question marks in the preseason. Rhoades might push all the right buttons, but that cannot be assumed at this point.

12. Nebraska

Fred Hoiberg’s best season with the Huskers came with a 9-11 B1G mark last season. Keisei Tominaga is must-see TV and will keep Nebraska competitive this year, but he’s not enough to carry this program into the top half of the conference.

11. Rutgers

Rutgers will not be an easy win for anybody as long as Steve Pikiell is at the helm, and you can bet the Scarlet Knights pull off an upset or two again this season. Unfortunately, the team lost a few too many veterans from a season ago to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

10. Michigan

There’s no getting around the fact that Michigan was gutted in the offseason with Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard leaving for the NBA and Hunter Dickinson transferring to Kansas. Attempts to land former 5-star prospect Caleb Love also fell through, and Juwan Howard’s squad could be in for a long season.

9. Northwestern

Chris Collins accomplished something special with Northwestern last season, but I’m unsure how big the loss of Chase Audige will be for the Wildcats. The additional departure of Robbie Beran also stings. Boo Buie can carry this team through stretches, and he gets Ty Berry back as a running mate, but is that enough to finish in the top half of the B1G?

8. Iowa

Not having Keegan or Kris Murray on the roster is a major question mark. I believe Fran McCaffery and the Hawkeyes will adjust, but it will take some getting used to. Ben Krikke (Valpo) and Even Brauns (Belmont) at least provide some veteran experience in the middle, and Iowa should have enough shooting to work with.

7. Ohio State

Last season was Ohio State’s worst in the Chris Holtmann era and the first under 20 total wins since Thad Matta’s final season. Down the stretch, Holtmann and the Buckeyes leaned into their youth, and that’s one reason why I think the program bounces back this season. Bruce Thornton returns to lead the offense, Zed Key provides depth in the middle and ex-Minnesota scorer Jamison Battle clearly knows how to get buckets in the B1G.

6. Illinois

Illinois has a great blend on its roster this season with Terrence Shannon Jr., Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja returning from last year’s core. Sencire Harris, Ty Rodgers and Luke Goode will all get a shot to make a jump this season, but Brad Underwood loaded up on some veterans in the portal by adding Marcus Domask, Justin Harmon and Quincy Guerrier for insurance.

5. Maryland

I really like what Kevin Willard was able to accomplish last year with the Terps. That was a veteran-laden team, but he does get Jahmir Young, Donta Scott and Julian Reese to work with this season. That trio can pose problems for a number of teams in the B1G.

4. Wisconsin

Wisconsin tied with Nebraska for 11th in the B1G a season ago, but there are a lot of reasons to like Greg Gard’s squad. The Badgers return all of their core pieces from last season, have a veteran PG in Chucky Hepburn and added a talented transfer piece in AJ Storr. Look for Connor Essegian to also take a step forward this season.

3. Indiana

I’m not really solid on any team being third-best in the B1G as there appears to be a clear separation between the two top teams and the rest of the league in the preseason. However, I will go with Mike Woodson’s Hoosiers because I like what he did in the offseason. The question marks exist, but Indiana has the talent to compete with 5-star freshman Mackenzie Mgbako and former 5-star center Kel’el Ware in Bloomington.

2. Michigan State

Time will tell where this year’s MSU team fits in the storied head coaching career of Tom Izzo. However, this group of Spartans looks — on paper — like a prototypical blend of size, experience, youthful explosiveness and veteran scoring for Izzo. Michigan State should be a preseason favorite to make a run in March, and the Spartans will seriously threaten for the league title.

1. Purdue

The drama of the NCAA Tournament is certainly worrisome for a Matt Painter-led team at this point. However, we’re talking about regular-season play to begin the season. Purdue has consensus National Player of the Year Zach Edey back to go with most of last season’s key production returning for a team that won the regular-season title and B1G Tournament title a year ago. The Boilermakers open in this spot as the only team that deserves to be here in the preseason.