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Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large:
Summer workouts are nearing their completion across college basketball. Rosters are (mostly) set. The focus is about to turn, full bore, toward the 2025-26 season.
So now seems like as good a time as any to take a look at where the 18 Big Ten teams stand. This new series will also serve as an update to my conference power rankings (in reverse order) now that teams are (again, mostly) settled.
Up first? A Big Ten basement dweller in 2024-25 that could experience just as many struggles this season.
Penn State
Last year’s finish: 16-15, 6-14 Big Ten (17th)
Notable losses: Ace Baldwin; Yanic Konan Niederhauser; Zach Hicks; Nick Kern; D’Marco Dunn
Returning players: Freddie Dilione V, R-Jr., G; Dominick Stewart, So., G; Eli Rice, R-So., G
Key additions: Kayden Mingo, Fr., G; Josh Reed, Sr., F; Sasa Ciani, Jr., F; Mason Blackwood, Fr., F
One extended thought: This is the true reset for Penn State coach Mike Rhoades, who eased into his transition to the Big Ten by bringing several of his best players from VCU with him to Happy Valley ahead of the 2023-24 season. But now Baldwin and Co. are gone, and the Nittany Lions were dealt a serious blow when Konan Niederhauser became a surprise first-round NBA draft pick this summer.
Mingo will be in the conversation as one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten, and the former top 40 recruit will certainly have the runway to put up good stats on what projects as a bottom tier Big Ten team. The same is true for Blackwood, who was also a four-star recruit in the Class of 2025. Mingo paired with Dilione — Penn State’s top returning scorer at 9.4 ppg — makes for a solid backcourt, but the Nittany Lions’ frontcourt is mostly untested.