Men's College Basketball Preview - the Big Ten

Teams are listed in order of projected conference finish.

#1 - Indiana
Key Returning Players: The Hoosiers return 5 seniors, including leading scorer D.J. White (14 PPG, 7 RPG).
Notable New Players: 5-star recruit Eric Gordon (Indianapolis) will vie for time as the shooting guard this season.
Key Games: Southern Illinois and UConn, in addition to playing Ohio State twice this year.

#2 - Ohio State
Key Returning Players: With 8 underclassmen on the roster, Ohio State needs its senior leadership to step up this year. Jamar Butler was the leading scorer last year of the seniors at 8.5 PPG.
Notable New Players: 7-footer Kosta Koufos is a freshman and the only player over 6'9" on the roster. He needs to be an instant impact on the inside.
Key Games: After a couple warm-up games against Wisconsin-Green Bay and VMI, UNC comes to town in early November. Florida and Tennessee are the main non-conference challenges to the Buckeyes.

#3 - Wisconsin
Key Returning Players: The Badgers lost their top two scorers from a year ago in Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor (33 PPG total), so Brian Butch and Michael Flowers (8 and 7 PPG respectively) are the senior leaders coming into the season.
Notable New Players: Jon Leuer (Minnesota) and Keaton Nankivil (Wisconsin) are 4-star recruits to bolster the Badgers' interior game.
Key Games: Duke, Marquette and Texas are the key non-conference games.

#4 - Illinois
Key Returning Players: 6'10" Shaun Pruitt returns after averaging 11 PPG and 8 RPG last year.
Notable New Players: 4-star recruits Demetri McCamey (Illinois) and Quinton Watkins (California) join the team in 2007.
Key Games: Maryland

#5 - Penn State
Key Returning Players: Their 3 top scorers return - Senior Geary Claxton (16 PPG) and Juniors Jamelle Cornley (13 PPG) and Danny Morrissey (10 PPG).
Notable New Players: Talor Battle (3-star) from New York.
Key Games: Seton Hall, St.Joseph's

#6 - Michigan State
Key Returning Players: Senior Drew Neitzel returns with his 18 PPG and 40% 3-point shooting this year.
Notable New Players: Chris Allen and Kalin Lucas are 3-star recruits in the backcourt.
Key Games: BYU, Texas, NC State