IU basketball picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten by Lindy’s Sports

Lamar Wilkerson attempts a jump shot.

The Lindy’s Sports 2025-26 preview magazine – an annual publication previewing the upcoming college basketball season – hits newsstands soon.

Here are some notes on Indiana and the Big Ten at large from the annual publication. (You can purchase the regional cover featuring Darian DeVries here.)

• Nine Big Ten teams are ranked in the Lindy’s preseason 40, which is topped by No. 1 Houston.

The Big Ten teams in the top 40 include Purdue (No. 2), Michigan (No. 4), UCLA (No. 16), Oregon (No. 17), Illinois (No. 23), Michigan State (No. 25), Iowa (No. 31), Wisconsin (No. 33) and Ohio State (No. 38).

• IU non-conference opponents ranked in the top 40: Kentucky (No. 6), Louisville (No. 14) and Marquette (No. 37).

• Lindy’s projects IU to make the NCAA tournament, but doesn’t have the Hoosiers advancing past the opening round of games.

• Four Big Ten players earned Lindy’s preseason All-American honors. Purdue’s Braden Smith and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg earned first team honors, UCLA’s Donovan Dent is second team and Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz is third team.

• Lindy’s ranked the top 150 players in college basketball and included the following Big Ten players: Smith (No. 1), Lendeborg (No. 2), Dent (No. 12), Stirtz (No. 18), Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn (No. 19), Oregon’s Nate Bittle (No. 20), Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton (No. 30), Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli (No. 31), Tomislav Ivisic of Illinois (No. 34), Indiana’s Tucker DeVries (No. 42), Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad (No. 46), Wisconsin’s John Blackwell (No. 61), UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau (No. 67), Purdue’s Oscar Cluff (No. 70), Washington’s Hannes Steinbach (No. 88), Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras (No. 98), Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson (No. 102), Michigan State’s Coen Carr (No. 103), Nebraska’s Rienk Mast (No. 106), Washington’s Desmond Claude (No. 111), USC’s Chad Baker-Mazara (No. 121), Andrej Stojakovic of Illinois (No. 127), Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. (No. 135), Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer (No. 140), Oregon’s Kwame Evans Jr. (No. 144), Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd (No. 148) and UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. (No. 149).

• Lindy’s picked Purdue to win the Big Ten, followed by Michigan, UCLA, Oregon, Illinois, Michigan State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana, Washington, Maryland, USC, Nebraska, Northwestern, Minnesota, Rutgers and Penn State.

• Overview on Indiana: “It’s not fair to expect Indiana to contend for a Big Ten title with a new squad, but there’s enough skill, shooting and experience to expect an upper-division finish and an NCAA tournament berth.”

• Also on IU: “DeVries will contend for first team all-league honors, while Wilkerson will compete to lead the league in scoring and 3-pointers. Tayton Conerway should be in the conversation for defensive player of the year.”

• Smith is Lindy’s pick for preseason Big Ten player of the year and Stirtz is the pick for newcomer of the year.

• Lindy’s first-team All-Big Ten: Dent, Smith, Stirtz, Kaufman-Renn and Lendeborg.

• Lindy’s second-team All-Big Ten: Thornton, Martinelli, DeVries, Bittle and Ivisic.

• Lindy’s third-team All-Big Ten: Shelstad, Blackwell, Steinbach, Bilodeau and Cluff.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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