Michigan picked to finish 3rd in Big Ten in preseason media poll

In a poll from The Athletic and the Columbus Dispatch, Michigan was ranked to finish third in the Big Ten for the 2022-23 season.

The poll asks voters to rank the teams in the conference from 1 to 14, assessing that many points to each team when submitting their ballot. Michigan finished with 92 points, including one first place vote.

Indiana topped the poll with 43 votes and 19 first place votes. Illinois (81 votes, six first place votes), Michigan State (139) and Purdue (141, one first place vote) round out the top five.

Michigan also won some individual honors in the poll. Junior center Hunter Dickinson earned 14 of the 28 votes for Big Ten Player of the year and was a unanimous selection to the All Big-Ten team with 56 votes. Jaelin Llewellyn also deserves an honorable mention, earning two votes for Second Team All-Big Ten.

As The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn wrote, in last season’s poll, Michigan was voted the league favorite with 13 of 28 first place votes. Michigan ended up tied for seventh in the conference, posting an 11-9 Big Ten record and a 19-15 overall record before earning one of the last at-large bids in the NCAA Tournament and winning a few games to get to the Sweet Sixteen.

The 2022-23 season for Michigan kicks off with a Nov. 4 exhibition against Ferris State. The first regular season game is against Purdue Fort Wayne three days later, with tip-off at the Crisler Center set for 6:30 p.m.