With the Ohio State-specific preview already posted, we've got to put that post in context by talking about the Buckeyes in comparison to the rest of the conference. There's no use talking about predictions for Ohio State without discussing their yearly opponents, so we'll dive into the conference outlook as the calendar turns to the first game week of 2022. It. Is. Time!

First and foremost, we'll get the final ranking (per me) for the conference going into the conference tournament. As it was last year, no teams will be left out of the conference tournament, so the Buckeyes are in no matter what happens. That said, here's my predicted finish:

1. Maryland (5-0)

2. Johns Hopkins (3-2)

3. Ohio State (3-2)

4. Rutgers (2-3)

5. Penn State (2-3)

6. TTUN (1-5)

Terrapins go undefeated once again in-conference, the Jays get the tiebreaker over Ohio State, and the rest of the pack falls below .500. Let's get into some details.

1. Maryland

Maryland had probably the best offseason you could want as a championship runner-up. The Terps added the best transfer on the market in midfielder Jonathan Donville, who came to College Park from Cornell. Maryland also added attackman Kheegan Khan, a 5th-year out of Villanova. Their best freshman, Dante Trader, is probably not going to play lacrosse in college, as he plays football for Maryland as well. Trader has been out all spring, probably won't play this year, and I can't imagine he'll do double duty starting as a sophomore. Eric Spanos, a true freshman attackman, is a top 12 recruit, but isn't going to see the field at attack this year. 

Aside from the massive departure of Jared Bernhardt, Maryland also returns pretty much everyone of consequence from last year's run. Goalie Logan McNaney is back to anchor the always stout Terrapin defense. Bubba Fairman, Logan Wisnauskas, Anthony DeMaio, Daniel Maltz, and Brett Makar all return for another run at a championship. This team is so deep that Maltz, a really high-scoring off-ball player for Maryland in 2021, won't start at attack most likely. Maryland is bonkers and will be a lead-pipe lock for the Final Four.

2. Johns Hopkins

After a really down year in 2021, this is going to be big rebound opportunity for the Jays in 2022. Hopkins has had a complete offseason to absorb new coach Peter Milliman's expectations, John Grant Jr.'s offense, and develop cohesion. Despite a horrible start to 2021, the Blue Jays really kicked into a high gear to close the season out, going to the title game against Maryland and nearly securing an automatic bid to the tournament. The 2021 recruiting class was very down for the Jays, with only 3 top 100 players coming into the season. Additionally, Johns Hopkins was not really active in the transfer market this past offseason. 

That said, returning to Johns Hopkins is a whole lot of talent. Joey Epstein, a former #1 overall recruit, is back for a senior year. Super sophomores Casey McDermott, Brent Grimes, and Johnathan Peshko have the potential to form a killer first line midfield, but likely will be the best second midfield line in the entire country. Grimes and Peshko are gigantic shooters, and Casey McDermott has been an outstanding dodger for the Jays. If the defense takes a step, the Jays could give Maryland a run for their money.

3. Ohio State

The Buckeyes have been covered in a different post, so I'll keep this pretty brief. I think Ohio State beats TTUN and Rutgers this year. That means they need to win 1 game against Penn State, Maryland or Johns Hopkins. Most likely is Hopkins, based on recent history. Least likely is Maryland.

Also, Ari Allen is going to be the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

4. Rutgers

A year after their best season in over a decade, Rutgers used the transfer portal again to reload their roster. The difference here is that the additions aren't going to replace the talent that departed this offseason. Rutgers loses the best attack line in school history after Adam Charalambides and Kieran Mullins finally exhausted their eligbility. Coming to New Jersey is gigantic attackman Mitch Bartolo (6'6"), a UPenn transfer. Bartolo scored 20 goals in 27 games for the Quakers, meaning his size hasn't translated to serious success. Brian Cameron transferred from UNC, having played in 38 games for the Tar Heels and scoring 38 goals. Brad Apgar, a defensive transfer from Salisbury (DIII), is looking to bring more talent to the Scarlet Knights' close defense. That's about it for incoming talent.

Returning are Shane Knobloch, the best freshman midfielder in the Big Ten last year, and David Sprock, another outstanding midfielder. They'll look to take over initiation of the offense. This team could be dangerous, but it's going to be a real step down from last year's best team ever. 

5. Penn State

This is a bit of gamble. Penn State lost their best-ever goalscorer, Mac O'Keefe, this past offseason. He was responsible for the Nittany Lions' four wins last year, basically on his own. The rest of the offense was pretty bad, and it's going to be a coin-flip to see if the incoming freshman can offset a pretty poor upperclassmen cadre. Canyon Birch returns, but has yet to live up to his acclaim out of high school. Birch started Penn State's final four games, and will come into this year potentially as healthy as he's ever been. 

Penn State has 6 top 100 players coming in, including top 30 attackman Will Peden, who looks like he's going to be really, really good. The defense also is getting reinforced, with top 30 defenseman Pup Buono coming to Happy Valley as well. Freshmen talent is great, but it's still a massive jump from high school to the Big Ten. I don't think there's enough adjustment by these players to get Penn State out of 5th place this season.

6. TTUN

The Wolverines are a weird, weird team. They're consistently pulling in top 100 offensive talent, but really struggle to win games with said talent. Josh Zawada and Michael Boehm headline the returners for the Wolverines, both former 5-star offensive recruits. Additionally, top 25 midfielder Aidan Mulholland joins the squad, along with top 50 attackman Ryan Cohen. And yet, the defense for the Wolverines is always suspect. That will continue this year, as there are no top 100 defenders coming to Ann Arbor, and the defense from last year is going to be just as mediocre. If a team can avoid too many turnovers, the incredible offensive talent in the Maize and Blue won't have a chance to hurt them. And I think that this is going to be another long year in Big Ten play.

That's a wrap for the Big Ten preview this year. You've got a few names to watch, an outline of how I think the season shakes out, and some incredible misses for me to make on my predictions. Bookmark this for May 2022 so you can laugh at how wrong I was, or ask me for my lotto numbers when Mega Millions tops $300 million.

It's a week until Detroit Mercy. We're officially on!

Go Bucks!