Michigan State basketball unanimous pick to win Big Ten title
The Big Ten will unveil its preseason men’s basketball poll at media day Thursday in New York. But the league’s media gave a glimpse of the big expectations for Michigan State this season.
The Spartans were a unanimous choice to win the conference title this year by a panel of 28 reporters who cover the Big Ten.
Sophomore forward Miles Bridges also is a unanimous choice for Player of the Year, while newcomer Jaren Jackson Jr. fell one vote shy of being a unanimous pick for conference Freshman of the Year.
Purdue is projected to finish second and Minnesota third. Michigan is tied for fifth with Maryland.
Bridges was a unanimous preseason All-Big Ten first-team pick along with Wisconsin center Ethan Happ. Joining them are Michigan forward Moritz Wagner, Minnesota point guard Nate Mason and Northwestern shooting guard Bryant McIntosh.
Maryland center Bruno Fernando received the only other Freshman of the Year vote.
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CAREY LIKES MSU: Vernon Carey Jr., the No. 1 junior and top recruit for 2019 according to 247Sports.com, listed MSU among his final eight choices.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound power forward from University School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, listed Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, North Carolina and UCLA along with the Spartans.
Carey is the son of former NFL offensive lineman Vernon Carey Sr., who played collegiately at Miami and spent eight seasons with his hometown Miami Dolphins.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.
Big Ten poll
Here’s the full unofficial preseason Big Ten media poll, which was compiled by Brendan Quinn of The Athletic Detroit:
1. Michigan State (28 – unanimous)
2. Purdue (80)
3. Minnesota (90)
4. Northwestern (115)
T-5. Maryland (155)
T-5. Michigan (155)
7. Wisconsin (168)
8. Iowa (204)
9. Indiana (270)
10. Penn State (280)
11. Ohio State (314)
12. Illinois (315)
13. Nebraska (362)
14. Rutgers (376)
First Team All-Big Ten
Player of the Year: Miles Bridges (unanimous)
Freshman of the Year: Jaren Jackson Jr.
Miles Bridges (28 – unanimous)
Ethan Happ (28 – unanimous)
Moritz Wagner (20)
Nate Mason (19)
Bryant McIntosh (18)
Also receiving votes: Vincent Edwards (12), Amir Coffey (2), Nick Ward (2), Carsen Edwards (1), Jae'Sean Tate (1), Isaac Haas (1), Jordan Murphy (1)
Full panel: 28 voters, 2 from each beat
Scott Richey — Illinois | Champaign News-Gazette
Jeremy Werner — Illinois | Scout
Alex Bozich — Indiana | Inside The Hall
Zach Osterman — Indiana | Indianapolis Star
Mark Emmert — Iowa | Des Moines Register
Chad Leistikow — Iowa | The Des Moines Register
Don Markus — Maryland | The Baltimore Sun
Roman Stubbs — Maryland | The Washington Post
Dylan Burkhardt — Michigan | UMHoops
Brendan Quinn — Michigan | The Athletic
Matt Charboneau — Michigan State | Detroit News
Chris Solari — Michigan State | Detroit Free Press
Marcus Fuller — Minnesota | Minneapolis Star Tribune
Chad Graff — Minnesota | Chad Graff
Chris Basnett — Nebraska | Lincoln Journal Star
Lee Barfknecht — Nebraska | Omaha World-Herald
Teddy Greenstein — Northwestern | Chicago Tribune
Shannon Ryan — Illinois/Northwestern | Chicago Tribune
Adam Jardy — Ohio State | Columbus Dispatch
Bill Landis — Ohio State | Cleveland.com
Ben Jones — Penn State | StateCollege.com
David Jones — Penn State | The Harrisburg Patriot-News
Nathan Baird — Purdue | Lafayette Journal & Courier
Brian Neubert — Purdue | Rivals
Jerry Carino — Rutgers | Asbury Park Press
Keith Sergeant — Rutgers | NJ.com
Jim Polzin — Wisconsin | Wisconsin State Journal
Jeff Potrykus — Wisconsin | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel