2019–20 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season


The 2019–20 Big Ten men's basketball season began with practices in October 2019, followed by the start of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 5, 2019. The regular season ended on March 8, 2020.
With a win against Indiana on March 7, 2020, Wisconsin earned a share of the Big Ten regular season championship. With a win over Michigan on March 8, Maryland earned a share of their first Big Ten regular season championship. Also with a win on March 8 against Ohio State, Michigan State earned a share of their third straight Big Ten regular season championship. Due to tie-breaking rules, Wisconsin received the No. 1 seed, Michigan State the No. 2 seed, and Maryland the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Big Ten Tournament was scheduled to be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana from March 11 through 15, until the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA Tournament was likewise canceled on March 12.
Iowa big man Luka Garza was named Big Ten Player of the Year. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard was named Coach of the Year.

Head coaches

Coaching changes prior to the season

Nebraska

On March 26, 2019, Nebraska fired head coach Tim Miles. Four days later, the school hired former Chicago Bulls' head coach Fred Hoiberg as the next head coach.

Michigan

On May 13, 2019, Michigan head coach John Beilein left the school to accept the head coaching position with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nine days later, the school hired former Michigan player and member of the "Fab Five" Juwan Howard as head coach.

Coaches

Notes:

Preseason conference poll

Prior to the conference's annual media day, unofficial awards and a poll were chosen by a panel of 28 writers, two for each team in the conference. Michigan State was the near unanimous selection to win the conference, receiving 27 of 28 first-place votes.

Preseason All-Big Ten

On October 2, 2019, a panel of conference media selected a 10-member preseason All-Big Ten Team and Player of the Year.

Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
WoodenNaismithRobertsonCousyWestErvingMaloneAbdul-Jabbar
Anthony Cowan, Maryland
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
Trent Frazier, Illinois
Luka Garza, Iowa
Matt Haarms, Purdue
Joshua Langford, Michigan State
Zavier Simpson, Michigan
Jalen Smith, Maryland
Lamar Stevens, Penn State
Jon Teske, Michigan
Xavier Tillman, Michigan State
Kaleb Wesson, Ohio State
Trevion Williams, Purdue
Cassius Winston, Michigan State

Preseason national polls

APAthlon
Sports		Bleacher
Report		Blue Ribbon
Yearbook		CBS SportsCoachesESPNLindy's
Sports		NBC SportsSBNationSports
Illustrated		Street
and Smith		USBWA
Illinois23
Indiana
Iowa
Maryland7775810976
Michigan
Michigan State111111111
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern
Ohio State1814241416131725
Penn State
Purdue232222182219
Rutgers
Wisconsin

Regular season

Rankings

On December 2, 2019, Michigan tied the 1989–90 Kansas Jayhawks for the largest jump in the history of the AP Poll as they jumped from unranked to No. 4.

Early season tournaments

Nine of the 14 Big Ten teams participated in early season tournaments. All Big Ten teams participated in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge against Atlantic Coast Conference teams, the 21st year for the event. Eight of the 14 teams participated in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, including Michigan State who participated for the first time.
TeamTournamentFinish
IowaLas Vegas Invitational2nd
MarylandOrlando Invitational1st
MichiganBattle 4 Atlantis1st
Michigan StateMaui Invitational5th
NebraskaCayman Islands Classic3rd
NorthwesternFort Myers Tip-Off4th
PurdueEmerald Coast Classic2nd
Penn StateNIT Season Tip-Off3rd
WisconsinLegends Classic4th

Player of the week

Throughout the conference regular season, the Big Ten offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday.
Cassius Winston was named the Naismith National Player of the Week on January 6, 2020.
WeekPlayer of the weekFreshman of the week
November 11, 2019Nate Reuvers, WisconsinKofi Cockburn, Illinois
November 18, 2019Kaleb Wesson, Ohio StateTrayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
November 18, 2019Kaleb Wesson, Ohio StateMalik Hall, Michigan State
November 25, 2019Kofi Cockburn, IllinoisKofi Cockburn, Illinois
December 2, 2019Anthony Cowan Jr., MarylandTrayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
December 2, 2019Jon Teske, MichiganTrayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
December 9, 2019Luka Garza, IowaKofi Cockburn, Illinois
December 16, 2019Lamar Stevens, Penn StateTrayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
December 16, 2019Lamar Stevens, Penn StateKofi Cockburn, Illinois
December 23, 2019Gabe Kalscheur, MinnesotaArmaan Franklin, Indiana
December 23, 2019D'Mitrik Trice, WisconsinD.J. Carton, Ohio State
December 30, 2019Daniel Oturu, MinnesotaKofi Cockburn, Illinois
January 6, 2020Cassius Winston, Michigan StateJoe Toussaint, Iowa
January 13, 2020Daniel Oturu, MinnesotaKofi Cockburn, Illinois
January 13, 2020Trevion Williams, PurdueKofi Cockburn, Illinois
January 20, 2020Luka Garza, IowaCJ Frederick, Iowa
January 27, 2020Jalen Smith, MarylandKofi Cockburn, Illinois
February 3, 2020Anthony Cowan Jr., MarylandFranz Wagner, Michigan
February 10, 2020Lamar Stevens, Penn StateTrayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
February 17, 2020Anthony Cowan Jr., MarylandFranz Wagner, Michigan
February 24, 2020Ayo Dosunmu, IllinoisTrayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
March 2, 2020Cassius Winston, Michigan StateFranz Wagner, Michigan

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 20 conference games, and at least one game against each opponent.
IllinoisIndianaIowaMarylandMichiganMichigan StMinnesotaNebraskaNorthwesternOhio StPenn StPurdueRutgersWisconsin
vs. Illinois–0–11–12–00–22–00–10–10–21–00–10–21–10–1
vs. Indiana1–0–0–12–01-00–10–20–20–11–11–12–01–02–0
vs. Iowa1–11–0–1–11–11–00–21–10–10–11–12–00–10–1
vs. Maryland0–20–21–1–0–11–10–10–10–21–11–00–11–11–0
vs. Michigan2–00–11–11–0–1–11–00–20–12–01–00–20–21–0
vs. Michigan St0–21–00–11–11–1–0–20–10–20–11–11–00–11–1
vs. Minnesota1–02–02–01–00–12–0–0–10–20–21–11–01–01–1
vs. Nebraska1–02–01–11–02–01–01–0–2–02–01–00–12–02–0
vs. Northwestern2–01–01–02–01–02–02–00–2–1–01–02–01–01–0
vs. Ohio State0–11–11–01–10–21–02–00–20–1–1–10–10–12–0
vs. Penn State1–01–11–10–10–11–11–10–10–11–1–0–11–11–0
vs. Purdue2–00–20–21–02–00–10–11–00–21–01–0–2–01–1
vs. Rutgers1–10–11–01–12–01–00–10–20–11–01–10–2–1–1
vs. Wisconsin1–00–21–00–10–11–11–10–20–10–20–11–11–1–
Total13–79–1111–914–610–1014–68–122–183–1711–911–99–1111–914–6

Honors and awards

All-Big Ten awards and teams

On March 9, 2019, the Big Ten announced most of its conference awards.

USBWA

On March 10, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association released its Men's All-District Teams, based upon voting from its national membership. There were nine regions from coast to coast, and a player and coach of the year were selected in each. The following lists all the Big Ten representatives selected within their respective regions.
District II
District III
District V
Player of the Year
All-District Team
The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced their Division I All‐District teams on March 22, recognizing the nation’s best men’s collegiate basketball student-athletes. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, the selections on this list were then eligible for NABC Coaches' All-America Honors. The following list represented the District 7 players chosen to the list.
;First Team
;Second Team

Big Ten Tournament