Happy FIFA World Cup Week to all, and happy National Peanut Butter Cookie Day to those without the world’s most common food allergy.
Welcome to another edition of “You’re Nuts”, where our basketball writers pass the time during the long, grueling off-season by picking a basketball-related topic and debating it until we hit somewhere around 1,000 words and call it a day.
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Last week, the guys debated whether Ohio State’s offense – which has improved every year under Jake Diebler so far — will continue that trend and improve again next season. While offensive efficiency isn’t the only offensive statistic we care about, we used that as an example – by the end of his interim season, Ohio State was 39th in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
During Diebler’s first full season, the Buckeyes jumped to 30th nationally, and last season Ohio State was 17th. Will they continue the upward trend in the 2026-27 season?
Connor said no, mostly because he believed that the absence of Bruce Thornton will take some time after the program’s all-time leading scorer was the de-facto answer for every dead possession for three years. Justin said yes, the offense will continue to get better, because their top four options this season are better than their top four options last season.
This week we actually aren’t talking about the Buckeyes at all — for good reason. Nine Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament last season, and nine did not. Of those nine, is there one that you feel is going to take a big step forward this year, and therefore make the tournament? Since Ohio State made the dance last year, we aren’t talking about them this week.
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This week’s question: Which Big Ten team that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament last year will make it this year?
Connor: Maryland
Maryland was almost the worst team in the Big Ten last season, finishing second-to-last with a conference record of 4-16. I think most people expected it to be a transition year for Maryland, but with a coach like Buzz Williams leading the program, Maryland fans and alumni probably had higher expectations than a second-to-last place finish in the Big Ten.
Not all of it was Buzz’s fault — Maryland’s best player only played 10 games and then missed the rest of the season with a knee injury. Pharrel Payne, who transferred to Maryland from Texas A&M when Williams took the job in College Park, averaged 17.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game before he got injured. Maryland should get him back next season assuming his medical waiver is approved.
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In addition to getting Payne back, Maryland is also bringing in Baba Oladotun — a five-star freshman who was the No. 9 player in the 2026 recruiting class. He’s a 6-foot-10 forward who, according to 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein, “Has an instinctive ability to navigate the lane.”
Williams also has one of the biggest breakout candidates in the Big Ten in sophomore guard Andre Mills, who had two 30-point games in Big Ten play last year and averaged 19.9 points per game over the final eight games of the season. He’s got good size at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, and shot an acceptable 34% from three-point range as a freshman.
Maryland brought in a few other solid transfers, including former Tennessee guard Bishop Boswell, but I think the two returners — Mills and Payne — paired with Oladotun are going to form a really strong core for Williams in year two.
Justin: USC
There are a handful of teams that I think will take a jump next season (Ohio State included), but the team that will take the biggest jump is USC.
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The Trojans have added some top players in the portal, retained their two best players and got rid of Chad Baker-Mazara, who was a good player but very clearly did not want to be there towards the end of the season.
The three biggest stories for the Trojans are Rodney Rice, Alijah Arenas and KJ Lewis.
Rice is back after suffering a season ending injury early in the season last year. Before that, the former Maryland guard averaged 20.3 points per game over the first six games and he is back and ready for a full season of basketball.
Alijah Arenas was supposed to be a one-and-done, but he is back after an injury stalled his NBA plans and his sophomore jump could put him amongst the best players in the conference after averaging 14.1 points per game during his freshman campaign.
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And former Arizona and Georgetown guard KJ Lewis will join the group after averaging 14.9 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game.
Jacob Cofie is back for his junior season after averaging 9.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game and possibly heading to the NBA.
They also brought in Eric Reibe, a 7’1 former McDonalds All-American transfer from UConn and they are adding 5-star freshman Christian Collins, another McDonalds All-American.
The Trojans will be very solid next season.
