The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft has passed and, for the most part, the Big Ten retained most of its star power from guys who were once on the fence. Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes, Maryland's Melo Trimble, Purdue's Caleb Swanigan and Indiana's James Blackmon Jr. all returned to school in the final hours leading up to the deadline.
So, now that the deadline has come and gone, let's take a way-too-early look at next year's Big Ten slate with an offseason version of The Most Prestigious Big Ten Power Rankings on the Internet.
1. Wisconsin
With Hayes returning for his senior season, the Badgers are my No. 1 team in the Big Ten as they bring back their top-nine scorers from a team that reached the Sweet 16 a year ago. Greg Gard will be in charge for his first full season and Wisconsin should enter next year as a top-10 team behind one of the league's best trios in Hayes, Bronson Koenig and Ethan Happ.
2. Indiana
With Blackmon and Thomas Bryant — who surprisingly did not even submit his name for the NBA Draft in the first place — both returning to Indiana to go alongside Robert Johnson, Collin Hartman, OG Anunoby and Pittsburgh transfer Josh Newkirk, Indiana is certainly one of the favorites to win the Big Ten — a feat the Hoosiers accomplished last year.
The Hoosiers did lose Troy Williams to the NBA and must find a way to answer their biggest question — replacing Yogi Ferrell — but the overall talent and depth of Indiana makes them one of the top teams in the league yet again.
3. Michigan State
The Spartans lost a ton from last year with Denzel Valentine, Bryn Forbes and Matt Costello all gone, but Tom Izzo is taking a Kentucky-type approach to next season by bringing in four high-profile recruits.
The Spartans will be extremely young and their success will depend heavily on their young freshman core of Miles Bridges, Josh Langford, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward — all top-40 players — and they'll need jumps from guys who were role players last year like Eron Harris, Gavin Schilling and Matt McQuaid.
If the freshmen are better than advertised, don't be surprised if Michigan State contends for the Big Ten title. The Spartans are probably the most talented team in the league.
4. Purdue
With Swanigan's return, the Boilermakers have arguably the best frontcourt in the league with Isaac Haas and Vince Edwards to go alongside the talented sophomore Swanigan. Purdue did lose A.J. Hammons (finally) and Raphael Davis, and point guard is still a question mark, but Purdue is going to punish teams inside again next season.
5. Ohio State
Ohio State's success next season largely hinges on the development of its six-man core that returned from last season. The Buckeyes return their entire starting five, plus Kam Williams, from a team that won 11 Big Ten games a year ago. Depth may be a question for Ohio State, though, as it will need at least a pair of its incoming class to contribute to a solid eight-man rotation.
The Buckeyes can certainly contend for one of the league's top-four spots though a league title next season seems far-fetched at this point. But if Ohio State's core doesn't progress like it needs to, the Buckeyes could be flirting with the NCAA tournament bubble again.
6. Michigan
Like Ohio State, Michigan brings back its entire starting five. But again, similarly to the Buckeyes, depth may be an issue for the Wolverines. Michigan was one of the last four teams into last year's NCAA tournament field and with its core returning should be in good position to get back into the Field of 68, but that's far from a guarantee.
7. Maryland
Melo Trimble may be the frontrunner for Big Ten Player of the Year in 2016-17.
People are putting Maryland in preseason Top-25s after Trimble's return and the recent addition of Justin Jackson — a top-100 player in the 2016 class — but I'm just not sold...like, at all. The Terps lost four out of their five starters — Robert Carter, Diamond Stone, Jake Layman and Rasheed Sulaimon — and those four accounted for 47.7 points, 21.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game.
In addition to Trimble, only Jared Nickens and Damonte Dodd averaged double-digit minutes last year and while Maryland will bring in three top-100 players, but not a single one is ranked inside the top-60. Maybe I'm missing something, but the Terps seem like a fringe NCAA tournament team to me next year. Having Trimble return will certainly make a difference, though.
8. Illinois
If there's a darkhorse team that may surprise some people this year, it could be the Illini. The dismissal of Kendrick Nunn, though necessary, was a blow basketball-wise to Illinois, but the Illini have plenty of returning talent in Malcolm Hill, Jalen Coleman-Lands and Mike Thorne (who received a sixth year of eligibility). If Illinois stays healthy, there's potential it could make a run at the NCAA tournament next year.
9. Penn State
Losing Brandon Taylor will be tough to replace, but the Nittany Lions do bring back Shep Garner and a strong recruiting class featuring a pair of top-100 players. Penn State is certainly headed in the right direction though it may not quite get to a NCAA tournament level next year.
10. Northwestern
The Wildcats return Bryant McIntosh, Derek Pardon and will get Vic Law back from injury, but the losses of Tre Demps and Alex Olah will no doubt have an impact. Northwestern is trying to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history, and it's hard to see that happening next year right now.
11. Iowa
Peter Jok is coming back, but the Hawkeyes, like Maryland, lose four starters. It could be a bit of a rebuilding year for Fran McCaffery's group. Dom Uhl, who averaged just 6.0 points per game last season, is Iowa's leading returning scorer outside of Jok.
12. Nebraska
Tim Miles got good news with Andrew White announcing his return and White and Tai Webster will give the Huskers a solid 1-2 punch. But the loss of Shavon Shields is still significant and Nebraska is going to need Anton Gill (a Louisville transfer) and its strong three-man recruiting class to make an immediate impact to contend in the Big Ten.
13. Minnesota
It was a less-than-stellar year in Minneapolis, and that's putting it kindly. However, Richard Pitino returns a large portion of last year's team and brings in a solid recruiting class. Still, the Gophers have to do something well on the floor for me to move them any higher on this list.
14. Rutgers
Rutgers is probably still going to be really bad, but hey, at least there's a new coach.
