No. 1 Purdue has national championship hopes but Big Ten has plenty of challengers

Purdue has gone to the Sweet three of the last four seasons under Matt Painter reached the Final Four and played for a national championship The Boilermakers earned their first No ranking in the AP Top three years ago and are preseason No for the first time this season All that s left in West Lafayette is a national championship and that s what the Boilermakers are eyeing with their loaded roster this season At the end of the day that s obviously our goal that s everybody s goal declared Braden Smith Purdue s unanimous preseason All-American guard That s been my goal for the last three years and its the goal this year because we have the skills and the people in the room to do so If we win it we win it If we don t we ll try everything we can do to win it The Big Ten s last NCAA title came years ago when Tom Izzo led Michigan State to its second national championship Coming off a Sweet run the Boilermakers have one of the nation s strongest returning cores with Smith dominating big man Trey Kaufman-Renn and sharpshooter Fletcher Loyer Purdue added one of the transfer portal s highest-rated players in former South Dakota State center Oscar Cluff former North Florida forward Liam Murphy and high-scoring freshman guard Omer Mayer Several of our guys it s about their legacy they re going to be the all-time winningest players in school history Painter noted They have a chance to go to another Final Four They have a chance to win another Big Ten championship The Boilermakers may have the best group on paper but they ll face a league that includes No Michigan No UCLA No Illinois No Michigan State and No Wisconsin so it may not be easy Top players to watch Braden Smith Purdue A unanimous choice as AP preseason All-American Smith averaged points assists rebounds and steals per tournament last season Nate Bittle Oregon The -footer can number inside outside and is one of the nation s top shot blockers Trey Kaufman-Renn Purdue One of the nation s best forwards he earned honorable mention AP All-America honors last year after averaging points rebounds and assists while shooting percent from the field John Blackwell Wisconsin The -foot- guard does a little of everything and keys the Badgers offense Bruce Thornton Ohio State The - senior guard led the Buckeyes with points per match and was ninth nationally with an assist-to-turnover ratio of Top transfers Yaxel Lendeborg Michigan The - forward was one of the nation s top transfers after leaving UAB and without delay gives the Wolverines a versatile participant who can sum rebound and defend Donovan Dent UCLA The honorable mention AP All-America gives the Bruins an immediate boost after transferring from New Mexico where he lead the Mountain Conference in scoring at points per contest Bennett Stirtz Iowa Last season s Missouri Valley Conference member of the year averaged points per meeting at Drake Chad Baker-Mazara USC The - swingman does a little everything and played in the Final Four with Auburn last season Andrej Stojakovic Illinois The son of former NBA guard Peja Stojakovic gives Brad Underwood another shooter after averaging points per championship at California last season Large Wolverines Michigan had the double -footer punch of Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin on the way to the Sweet in Dusty May s first season a year ago The No Wolverines will be big again up front with the additions May made through the transfer portal The - Lendeborg is a expected first-round NBA pick and will be joined by former Illinois forward Morez Johnson Jr - and Aday Mara - who transferred from UCLA Rebounds and shots inside are going to be hard to come by if May plays all three together Defensive Spartans One of Tom Izzo s calling cards at Michigan State has been defense and rebounding This season should be no different Jeremy Fears Jr is not only one of the nation s best point guards he s a superb point-of-attack defender Jaxon Kohler a - senior was one of the Big Ten s best rebounders and shot blockers Carson Cooper is a solid - and - Jesse McCulloch will play after redshirting last season The Spartans were picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten and went on the win the regular-season title a year ago yet another example of never doubting an Izzo-led gang Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top throughout the season Sign up here and here AP News mobile app AP college basketball https apnews com hub ap-top- -college-basketball-poll and https apnews com hub college-basketball Source