Here we bring you part four of our basketball previews. If you haven’t already, be sure to review the conference previews here:

Nebrasketball: B1G Men’s Basketball Preview Part 1-The Basement
Nebrasketball: B1G Men’s Basketball Preview Part 2-The Mushy Middle
Nebrasketball: B1G Men’s Basketball Preview Part 3-The Cream of the Dairy Store

The leaves are starting to turn, the harvest (for what little we can manage this awful season) is underway or already forced to conclusion by weather, the days are getting shorter, football is over halfway done, and the air is turning colder each day. That can mean only one thing: basketball season is so close we can all taste it! So, without further ado, we here at Corn Nation [a basketball website] bring you, at the conclusion of B1G previews, the Corn Nation Roundtable predictions for shooty-hoops season 2019-2020 in the inaugural season of Coach Fred Hoiberg.

Who wins the Big Ten regular season title?

[Trivia check-in: Last season was the first time in the last seven, and second in the last nine that teams have shared the title rather than won outright]

Jon: HAHAHAHAH Like I know a damned thing about basketball. Does it make a difference? If you look at everyone’s pre-season football predictions they really don’t mean a thing.
Michigan State will win the regular season title because they win more than most.

SpartyOnHuskers: Michigan State will likely win it outright by two games, or share the title with Ohio State (ignore my previews ranking of OSU for the purpose of this).

Brianna: Maryland. Michigan State doesn’t have to be everybody’s answer.

Patrick: Maryland and Michigan State. No, I don’t know how but it will be chaos and both fan bases will go full on berserker. Luckily, neither fan base has any clue where each others respective campuses are so nothing bad will happen.

Nate M: Nebraska. Book it. That or Michigan State, who Nebraska has dominated for the past decade.

Jill: Maryland is by far the most elite recruiting team in the conference. Ohio State is always near the top, as is Rutgers. Iowa lost a lot to graduation, but they could be good. You can never count out Purdue or Michigan. I think the Huskers are due for their overachieving year and could make some noise as well.

Oh, you mean men’s basketball? Pfffffft. {Editor’s note: Sorry Jill. WBB is not my forte I’m afraid. I will work to remember to always specify better in the future. -Kevin, aka. SpartyOn}

Will a B1G Regular Season Champ go undefeated this year in the second year of a 20 game schedule?

[Last time a B1G team went undefeated was Indiana in 1976 at 18-0]

Jon: No. Absolutely not.

SpartyOnHuskers: Nope. Nada. Eh-eh. Not gonna happen.

Brianna: That seems very unlikely. No.

Patrick: No, there will be a tie so one would have to have a loss. No, I still don’t know how.

Nate M: Yep. Nebraska. If they can’t do it then nobody can.

Jill: Maryland always seems to get close, but they stumble somewhere. Rutgers might have a favorable schedule. Will have to look again at that. (Yes, I’m still talking WBB.)

Is this the year a Wednesday team finally makes the title game of the B1G tournament?

[Trivia check-in: Prior to Nebraska, 7 times a team that started play on Thursday made the title game, and once did that team win (Iowa 2001). Since Nebraska, Maryland, and Rutgers have joined; only two teams have made it that started play on Thursday, and both times that team (Michigan) have won. But no team has made it, let alone won, that started on Wednesday.]

Jon: Yes. Purdue will start the season poorly, rise later, and then go on a tear at the end of the year.

SpartyOnHuskers: The champ and runner-up will be Friday teams.

Brianna: Wednesday all the way!

Patrick: Nope, the Wednesday teams are not going to be good this year. None at all. Not even Penn State.

Jill: Doubtful.

Who will win the Big Ten Tournament in Indy this year?

Jon: Ohio State. We have a guy writing for us who has “Sparty” in his name. I hope the tourney comes down to Ohio State and Michigan State so I can cheer for the Buckeyes. I will feel FILTHY DIRTY BUT I WILL LOVE EVERY BIT OF IT.

SpartyOnHuskers: Well that’s just mean Jon. Whatever happened to “Minnesota nice” now?! Izzo takes home his 7th B1G tournament title come March.

Brianna: I’m going to stick with Maryland on this one. Supposedly they are young but talented. That sounds great.

Patrick: Purdue because something weird is going to happen and if you’re going to have something weird then you know Purdue is around.

Jill: Maryland. Probably. (WBB)

Will the B1G match, or exceed last year’s 8 NCAA tournament teams this season?

Jon: It will match the eight teams they had last year.

SpartyOnHuskers: I think we can safely book six teams for the tournament this year, maybe 7 if Iowa gets Bohannon back and the committee looks past their awful SOS or Illinois doesn’t tank expectations and survives as a bubble team. However, I don’t see the league avoiding cannibalizing themselves to punch 8 tickets again.

Brianna: 8 seems kind of tough. I’d say no.

Patrick: Nope...man, I’ve said No or nope a lot in here. Anyway, there will be scandal and intrigue throughout the season and only SIX teams will make it this year.

Jill: The B1G women usually get quite a few teams in the tourney, but six is a more realistic number.

Nate M: I have Nebraska 9th. So I will say no. They will get exactly 8.

Individual Team Thoughts/Predictions/Corn Nation Rankings/Miscellaneous Hate:

1. Michigan State Spartans

SpartyOnHuskers: No surprise here. Not sure who voted Sparty 8th, but you’re clearly trolling me. That’s fine. Like my girl T-Swift says, haters gonna hate

2. Purdue Boilermakers

SpartyOnHuskers: Maybe a little high overall, but not being a fan of Boilermaker basketball personally, hats off to whoever voted them 10th.

3. Maryland Terrapins

SpartyOnHuskers: Mark Turgeon is the coach. Most people not voting them first checks out in my book as a result. Also, it was surprising how few Final Fours or conference championships Maryland has for being a “basketball school.” I suppose maybe we just assumed that about them because they were in the ACC and told us all how they’re a basketball school? But seriously, they have just two final fours to their resume, winning it all over Indiana in 2002. That’s kind of sad for a “basketball school.”

Tied-4th: Michigan Wolverines

SpartyOnHuskers: lololololol Juwan Howard... going to keep laughing at that until he proves he’s not a desperation hire because of Beilein’s terrible timing to leave.

Tied 4th: Ohio State Buckeyes

SpartyOnHuskers: The fact they tied in voting was funny for me.

6. Wisconsin Badgers

SpartyOnHuskers: All over the board on votes mostly. At least I don’t have to endure “First and ten Wisconsin” for three hours on repeat in basketball.

Tied 7th: Indiana Hoosiers

SpartyOnHuskers: Archie Miller is going to end up on the hot seat, right?

Tied 7th: Illinois Fighting Illini

SpartyOnHuskers: I kind of miss the mid-2000’s when they were actually good. It’s interesting seeing all the teams that have come and gone to challenge MSU as the top dog over the last two decades, though. Illinois’s 2005 Final Four squad was definitely one of my favorite non-MSU teams in that category.

9. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Jon: I don’t see how you can pick Nebraska anywhere but last. Maybe 13th, but are you supposed to speculate on production that doesn’t exist with a brand new coaching staff?
If the media writes stories about our basketball team and all their potential, will you blame them if the team finishes worse than their projections?
If your expectations are anywhere but 13th or 14th, you are a loonie and you should commit yourself to the loonie bin. Ok?

Brianna: I’m always an optimist when it comes to fandom, so I’m giving Nebraska a middle of the pack rating. I’m going with 7th or 8th for them.

Patrick: Jon is our fearless leader but is also old and doesn’t follow basketball much to my understanding. Rutgers and Northwestern do not have the talent to pull themselves out of the cellar. Nebraska will be close but not in the basement.Let’s say......12th. I will also most likely change this decision right before the season starts.

SpartyOnHuskers: Could be 8th, could be 13th, could be anywhere in between. Check back with me mid-January or so for a truly informed opinion. Will entirely depend on whether the team can learn to play together, rebound, and the individual players can adjust to the speed, skill, and physical play of the Big Ten conference.

Nate M: They’ll be 9th and just miss out on the NCAA tournament. Book it. Also, I’m looking forward to watching Cam Mack.

Tied 10th: Iowa Hawkeyes

SpartyOnHuskers: Fran needs to learn how to have his team play defense. His 2-3 zone sucks. Every. Year.

Tied 10th: Penn State Nittany Lions

SpartyOnHuskers: I don’t envy the job Pat Chambers has. Having said that, he typically ends up saying something that pisses me off every season and reminds me why I hate him. Still stunning that Penn State has a dedicated basketball practice facility and Maryland does not. Maryland does, however, not have the worst basketball arena in the conference, if not of the entire P6, which Penn State lays claim to.

12. Minnesota Golden Gophers

SpartyOnHuskers: Can the conference force them to repaint the floor already, please? It’s got to be unhealthy for viewers. Class-action lawsuit maybe?

13. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

SpartyOnHuskers: Rutgers basketball: not as bad as football, not as good as never inviting them into the conference to begin with.

14. Northwestern WIldcats

SpartyOnHuskers: It is really unfortunate they renovated Welsh-Ryan after the NCAA tourney season. The loss of home court advantage hands down caused numerous losses that would have likely swung the other way for the Wildcats and it sucked all of the momentum they had out of the program. I hear it is a fantastic arena for reading in the stands now at least.