IU basketball picked to finish 7th in the Big Ten by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook

Darren Harris attempts a shot at IU basketball practice.

The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, an annual publication previewing the college basketball season since the early 1980s, was released digitally this week. Printed copies will be available in the coming weeks.

After being picked to finish 9th in the Big Ten last fall, Blue Ribbon projects the Hoosiers to finish 7th in the Big Ten this season.

The Blue Ribbon preseason top 25 rankings include five Big Ten teams: Illinois (No. 3), Michigan State (No. 4), Michigan (No. 12), USC (No. 22) and Ohio State (No. 24).

Here are some notes on the Hoosiers, the Big Ten at large and more from the 2026-27 Blue Ribbon Yearbook:

• Blue Ribbon’s predicted order of finish in the Big Ten: Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan, USC, Ohio State, UCLA, Indiana, Purdue, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, Rutgers, Northwestern and Penn State.

• Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. is the Blue Ribbon pick for Big Ten and national player of the year.

• The preseason Big Ten all-conference team selected by Blue Ribbon is Fears Jr., Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau, Michigan’s Trey McKenney, Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort and David Mirkovic of Illinois.

• The top three Big Ten backcourts are Michigan State, Michigan and Illinois.

• The top three Big Ten frontcourts are Illinois, USC and Michigan State.

• The Blue Ribbon preseason All-American teams :

First team: Fears Jr., Florida’s Thomas Haugh, UConn’s Braylon Mullins, Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner and BYU’s Rob Wright III.

Second team: Mirkovic, Cadeau, Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas, Louisville’s Flory Bidunga and Tyran Stokes of Kansas.

Third team: Sandfort, McKenney, Miami’s Shelton Henderson, Tennessee’s Juke Harris and Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder.

Fourth team: Houston’s Joseph Tugler, Matas Vokietaitis of Texas, Tounde Yessoufou of St. John’s, Marquette’s Nijel James Jr. and Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard.

The Blue Ribbon college basketball yearbook is available to purchase here.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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