With the Buckeye season preview already posted, now we're going to take a peek at what the Big Ten will look like this year. Here's a hint: way freaking different. Absolutely tons of personnel turnover, coaching changes, etc. will remake the landscape of the conference. And it's going to give Ohio State a big opportunity.

Preview is going to be in predicted order of finish after the postseason tournament. Let's go.

Maryland (4-1, 2-0)

This is a lazy, but precedential, pick. Maryland loses their best offensive coordinator in recent memory, as Bobby Benson is the head coach at Providence now. Maryland loses pretty much every starter to AARP membership. The Terps are unproven in terms of current personnel, and in a different offensive system. But still number one.

That's because Maryland has the best recruiting and schematic coach in the game right now. Tillman is like Saban, adaptable, relentless on the trail, unwilling to accept mediocrity (aka Final Four exits only). The new starters likely include a previous 40-goal scorer (Dan Maltz) and a 100-point DIII mercenary (Donal Mullane). The defense, always a strength, has 5-star talent to surround Maryland's first defensive player to wear the #1 jersey (Brett Makar).

And oh yeah, a former top-5 recruit who played football last fall (Dante Trader) is on the field. Trader will try to pull an Arline, with better results. And one of the best goalies in the country returns between the pipes after a title run (Logan McNaney).

Until proven otherwise, the safe bet is on the Terps to win it all.

Ohio State (4-1, 1-1)

I mentioned it in the Buckeyes' team preview, but this is the year. The year we have all waited for since 2017. Finally, there is TALENT. Oodles of it. All over the field. Especially, miraculously, on offense. After literally years of waiting for midfielders to arrive, the Buckeyes seem to have found more than they know what to do with.

Ari Allen and Ed Shean will be familiar names from last year in midfield, looking to take another step. Shean is really looking for a breakout year, as he has been nigh on to unstoppable in scrimmages. Kyle Lewis is the Buckeyes' DIII merc, coming to join his OC brother for one last ride in Columbus. Lewis is a pass-first facilitator who should dominate short stick matchups.

Attack is scary no matter who starts on the left side. Richie LaCalandra or Jason Knox should have tons of goals over there. The only weakness is defensive midfield. Another transfer, Justin Sherrer, should help, but was a minimal contributor to Maryland's title team.

The Buckeyes should take a big step forward, but I don't see it being quite over the hump of Maryland.

Rutgers (3-2, 1-1)

The Scarlet Knights are due to finally, finally take a step back. No more Kirsts for Rutgers, so finally the strangle-hold on second should loosen. Rutgers added transfer pieces, for sure, but they're not quite the same caliber as previous years.

Ross Scott at attack and Shane Knobloch in midfield are stars. Added via the portal are Brian Cameron, a somewhat productive attackman at UNC, and Mitch Baker, an Aussie enigma who was on the Sharks' national team at Worlds. Defensively, Rutgers added Salisbury's Brad Apgar and Bryant's LaJhon Jones, some big players to try to replace the starting defensive unit of 2022.

And with a new goalie to break in, it's going to be difficult for Rutgers to maintain their breakneck style of play when they know there's a higher likelihood of giving up a goal in a counterattack the other way. I think Rutgers is still good, but I just don't see them being the same team as the last few years.

After a decent regular season, I think Rutgers falls to Ohio State in the Big Ten semifinals.

Johns Hopkins (2-3, 1-1)

Hopkins gets to the top of the bottom-tier because I don't know how to discern much of a difference between the bottom half of the league. Johns Hopkins got rid of their offensive coordinator after two seasons, whereupon John Grant, Jr. immediately jumped to the pro ranks of coaching. John Crawley was hired from Lehigh, looking to stabilize a Hopkins unit that has faltered despite tremendous talent.

Hopkins is BIG on offense. Physically, anyway. Garrett Degnon, Brendan Grimes, Johnathan Peshko, and true freshman Matt Collison are all north of 6'3". That's a BIG set of dudes, especially in lacrosse. Only Degnon has really proven himself a difference-maker, however. Degnon will have to carry an even heavier burden in 2023 as only he and Jacob Angelus return from last year's top 5 scorers.

Defensively, Johns Hopkins is still looking to break their years-long malaise. The Jays always attract talent, but that hasn't translated to results on the field. Hopkins will also need to find a new goalie to replace former Buckeye Josh Kirson. The fact that three other goalies could not beat him out doesn't speak well of the staff's ability to recruit goalkeepers. I don't think it's a good year in Baltimore, and Peter Milliman is teetering on the edge of being fired.

Penn State (2-3, 0-1)

The Nittany Lions have nowhere to go but up after last year's debacle. Penn State really struggled after Mac O'Keefe finally went to greener pastures. TJ Malone and Jack Traynor being hurt didn't help, as Penn State went 3-11 on the year. This year, Malone and Traynor return, Will Peden is back after leading PSU in assists and points, and there is some real offensive talent to be had in the freshman class.

Matt Lazzaro and Cam Sanderson come in as two of the most highly touted prospects in the 2022 class. Penn State should score goals this year. The question is can they stop teams. It wasn't a good year last year on defense, and the Nittany Lions will need all the help they can get from the Big Ten onslaught. I don't think they win their tournament game, but manage Ws over the Wolverines and another team.

TTUN (1-4, 0-1)

The Wolverines have the same problem every single year. Incredible offense is undercut by bad defense. Since they're coached by a former Maryland defensive coordinator, this puzzles me greatly. This season looks to be no different.

Bryce Clay returns from injury to join the ranks of perhaps the most talented starting offensive unit in the conference. Ryan Cohen, Josh Zawada, Michael Boehm, and Aidan Mulholland all return, with Justin Brown coming back as well after finishing 2022 in fine style. This is a very dangerous offensive unit. If the faceoff group keeps winning 58% like they did last year, the Wolverines can surprise some teams.

I just don't see a major shift in the defensive aspect here. Shane Carr returns in goal, as do two starting poles. But nothing last year indicated that this team was on the brink defensively. If the faceoff unit doesn't dominate, the Wolverines struggle to stop almost anyone. And as good as the offense will be, they need to be even marginal on defense. I see no reason to believe that will happen in 2023.

That's how I see this season playing out in the Big Ten. A LOT of uncertainty currently, but there's enough precedent from last year's results for me to be comfortable with this prediction post. Should be fun to see how wrong, or right, I end up being.

Go Bucks!