# 2014–15 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season

The 2014–15 Big Ten men's basketball season began with practices in October 2014, followed by the start of the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. It marked the first season for Rutgers and Maryland in the Big Ten Conference. Wisconsin won the regular season title and the 2015 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament.
Following the season, eight teams participated in post-season tournaments. Seven teams were invited to participate in the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, and one team was selected for the 2015 National Invitation Tournament. The conference achieved a 12–7 record in the NCAA tournament and a 12–8 overall postseason record. The postseason was highlighted by Wisconsin's NCAA tournament championship game appearance and Michigan State's final four appearance.
Frank Kaminsky earned several national player of the year awards and was the Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. He and D'Angelo Russell received 2014 All-American first team recognition and Melo Trimble earned second team recognition. Russell and Trimble were both 2015 USBWA Freshman All-America Team selections. Kaminsky and Russell were the inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award and Jerry West Award winners, respectively. Shavon Shields and Mike Gesell were Academic All-America selections.
Following the season, the conference had 5 selections in the 2015 NBA draft, including 3 in the first round: Russell (2nd), Kaminsky (9th), Sam Dekker (18th), Aaron White (49th), and Branden Dawson (56th). International player, Caleb Swanigan won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, while Trimble and Denzel Valentine won bronze medals at the 2015 Pan American Games.

## Preseason

According to the Big Ten media, Frank Kaminsky was the preseason conference player of the year and he was joined on the All-Big Ten preseason team by Yogi Ferrell, Caris LeVert, Terran Petteway, and Sam Dekker. The Big Ten Network poll came to the same results.
When CBSSports.com named its Preseason All-American team, it included LeVert, Petteway, Kaminsky and Dekker to its second team. NBCSports.com selected LeVert and Dekker to its Preseason All-American first team, Kaminsky to its second team and named Petteway as an honorable mention. Kaminsky was also a Preseason All-American first team selection by the Associated Press. Sporting News included Branden Dawson (1st team), Petteway and Dekker (2nd team), and Kaminsky (3rd team). USA Today selected Dekker to its first team, Dawson to its second team and Kaminsky, LeVert and Petteway to its third team. SB Nation included Kaminsky on its first team, Dekker and LeVert on its second team and Petteway on its third team. Sports Illustrated included Kaminsky on its first team and selected Dekker and LeVert to its second team. Bleacher Report selected Kaminsky and Petteway to its first team and LeVert and Dekker to its second team. Athlon Sports selected Dekker to its first team, LeVert and Kaminsky to its second team and Petteway to its third team. Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook selected Kaminsky as its preseason National Player of the Year and to its first team, while selecting Dekker and LeVert to its second team.
| | CBS | AP | TSN | USA Today | SB Nation | Blue Ribbon | Athlon Sports | Bleacher Report | NBC | BigTen.org | BTN | Sports Illustrated |
| Frank Kaminsky | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | Y | Y | 1st |
| Yogi Ferrell | | | | | | | | | | Y | Y | |
| Caris LeVert | 2nd | | | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | Y | Y | 2nd |
| Terran Petteway | 2nd | | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | | 3rd | 1st | | Y | Y | |
| Sam Dekker | 2nd | | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | Y | Y | 2nd |
| Branden Dawson | | | 1st | 2nd | | | | | | | | |

### Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
| | Wooden | Naismith | Robertson | Cousy | Olson | Tisdale |
| James Blackmon, Jr. IND | | | | | | Y |
| Branden Dawson MSU | Y | Y | Y | | Y | |
| Sam Dekker WIS | Y | Y | Y | | Y | |
| Yogi Ferrell IND | Y | Y | | Y | | |
| Robert Johnson IND | | | | | | Y |
| Frank Kaminsky WIS | Y | Y | Y | | Y | |
| Caris LeVert MICH | Y | Y | Y | | Y | |
| Terran Petteway NEB | Y | Y | Y | | Y | |
| D'Angelo Russell OSU | | Y | | | | Y |
| Melo Trimble MD | | | | Y | | |
| Derrick Walton MICH | | | | Y | | |
| Dez Wells MD | Y | | | | | |
Derrick Walton, Ferrell and Melo Trimble were among the 36 athletes on the Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watch List. LeVert, Dawson, Petteway, Dekker and Kaminsky were named to the Lute Olson Award Preseason Watch List. The Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List included LeVert, Dawson, Petteway, Dekker and Kaminsky. James Blackmon, Jr., Robert Johnson, and D'Angelo Russell made the Wayman Tisdale Award Watch List.
Dawson, Dekker, Ferrell, Kaminsky, LeVert, Petteway and Dez Wells all made the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list. When the Naismith Award Top 50 list came out in early December, it included Dawson, Dekker, Ferrell, Kaminsky, LeVert, Petteway and Russell.

### Preseason polls

Wisconsin was selected as the unanimous preseason favorite to win the conference championship by the members of the Big Ten Media. Michigan State and Ohio State were predicted to finish second and third in the same poll. The Big Ten Network poll had Wisconsin followed by Ohio State and Michigan State.
Several Preseason polls included Big Ten Teams.
| | AP | Coaches | Sporting News | Sports Illustrated | Blue Ribbon Yearbook | Bleacher Report | Athlon Sports |
| Illinois | | | | | | | |
| Indiana | | | | | | | |
| Iowa | | 25 | | 20 | | 25 | |
| Maryland | | | | | | | |
| Michigan | 24 | 23 | | 25 | 23 | 20 | 23 |
| Michigan State | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 20 | | 14 |
| Minnesota | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska | 21 | 21 | 22 | | 24 | 17 | 11 |
| Northwestern | | | | | | | |
| Ohio State | 20 | 20 | 21 | 13 | 15 | | 20 |
| Penn State | | | | | | | |
| Purdue | | | | | | | |
| Rutgers | | | | | | | |
| Wisconsin | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |

## Conference schedules

Before the season, it was announced that all 126 conference games would be broadcast nationally by CBS Sports, ESPN Inc. family of networks including ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, and the Big Ten Network. ESPN scheduled a game for every Tuesday and Thursday night of the conference season and CBS scheduled games for Saturday or Sunday afternoons starting January 17, 2015. CBS will carry the semifinals and finals of the 2015 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament, marking the 18th consecutive year that they have covered the Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament. Following the season, the Big Ten was announced as the national attendance leader for the 39th consecutive season with an average attendance of 12,781 for regular season home games and all seven sessions of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament. With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, the Big Ten surpassed 3 million in total attendance for the first time with totals of 3,195,137, including conference tournament games, and 3,076,641, excluding them. A record for intraconference games was also achieved with 1,677,589 total patrons. Eleven of the top thirty-two schools were in the Big Ten: Wisconsin (5th, 17,279), Indiana (8th, 16,288), Nebraska (10th, 15,569), Michigan State (14th, 14,797), Illinois (15th, 14,652), Ohio State (16th, 14,648), Iowa (20th, 14,101), Maryland (25th, 12,695), Michigan (28th, 12,316), Minnesota (29th, 12,188) and Purdue (32nd, 11,523). The 3,195,137 for the 14-team Big Ten was the second highest total in NCAA history only behind the 16-team Big East Conference in the 2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season which recorded 3,259,992 patrons. The Big Ten its rival conferences by over 1000 attendees: ACC (11,368), SEC (10,819), Big 12 (10,181) and Big East (9,853).

### 2014 ACC–Big Ten Challenge (Big Ten 8–6)

| Date | Time | ACC team | B1G team | Score | Location | Television | Attendance | Challenge leader |
| Dec 1 | 7:00 pm | Florida State | Nebraska | 70–65 | Donald L. Tucker Center • Tallahassee, Florida | ESPN2 | 6,406 | B1G (1–0) |
| Dec 1 | 7:00 pm | Clemson | Rutgers | 69–64 | Littlejohn Coliseum • Clemson, South Carolina | ESPNU | 6,285 | B1G (2–0) |
| Dec 2 | 7:00 pm | Pittsburgh | Indiana | 81–69 | Assembly Hall • Bloomington, Indiana | ESPN2 | 17,472 | B1G (3–0) |
| Dec 2 | 7:00 pm | Wake Forest | Minnesota | 84–69 | LJVM Coliseum • Winston-Salem, North Carolina | ESPNU | 8,112 | B1G (4–0) |
| Dec 2 | 7:30 pm | Syracuse | No. 17 Michigan | 68–65 | Crisler Center • Ann Arbor, Michigan | ESPN | 12,707 | B1G (5–0) |
| Dec 2 | 9:00 pm | No. 15 Miami | No. 24 Illinois | 70–61 | BankUnited Center • Coral Gables, Florida | ESPN2 | 6,086 | B1G (5–1) |
| Dec 2 | 9:00 pm | NC State | Purdue | 66–61 | Mackey Arena • West Lafayette, Indiana | ESPNU | 12,023 | B1G (6–1) |
| Dec 2 | 9:30 pm | No. 5 Louisville | No. 14 Ohio State | 64–55 | KFC Yum! Center • Louisville, Kentucky | ESPN | 22,784 | B1G (6–2) |
| Dec 3 | 7:15 pm | Notre Dame | No. 19 Michigan State | 79–78$^{OT}$ | Edmund P. Joyce Center • South Bend, Indiana | ESPN2 | 9,149 | B1G (6–3) |
| Dec 3 | 7:15 pm | Virginia Tech | Penn State | 61–58 | Bryce Jordan Center • University Park, Pennsylvania | ESPNU | 7,326 | B1G (7–3) |
| Dec 3 | 7:30 pm | No. 12 North Carolina | Iowa | 60–55 | Dean Smith Center • Chapel Hill, North Carolina | ESPN | 18,040 | B1G (8–3) |
| Dec 3 | 9:15 pm | No. 7 Virginia | No. 21 Maryland | 76–65 | Xfinity Center • College Park, Maryland | ESPN2 | 15,371 | B1G (8–4) |
| Dec 3 | 9:15 pm | Georgia Tech | Northwestern | 66–58 | Welsh-Ryan Arena • Evanston, Illinois | ESPNU | 6,133 | B1G (8–5) |
| Dec 3 | 9:30 pm | No. 4 Duke | No. 2 Wisconsin | 80–70 | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | ESPN | 17,279 | B1G (8–6) |
| Winners are in bold Game times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Dec 1). Challenge expanded to 14 games with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers to the B1G. Rutgers and Louisville made their inaugural appearances in the event. Boston College did not play due to the ACC having one more team than the B1G. First Challenge in which Maryland represented the B1G, as they left the ACC following the 2013–14 season. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

The Big Ten had 6 teams ranked and 2 others receiving votes in the preseason Coaches' Poll and 5 teams ranked and 4 others receiving votes in the preseason AP Poll.
Legend :
| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll |
| (Italics) | Number of first place votes |
| | | Pre/ Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| Illinois | AP | RV | RV | RV | 24 | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Illinois | C | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 25 | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Indiana | AP | | | RV | | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | | | | | |
| Indiana | C | | | RV | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 21 | 25 | RV | | | | | | |
| Iowa | AP | RV | RV | | | RV | | | | RV | | 25 | | | RV | | | | RV | RV | |
| Iowa | C | 25 | 25 | RV | | RV | RV | | | RV | | RV | | | RV | RV | | | RV | | RV |
| Maryland | AP | RV | RV | RV | 21 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 12 | |
| Maryland | C | | | | 22 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 16 |
| Michigan | AP | 24 | 24 | 19 | 17 | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michigan | C | 23 | 22 | 18 | 16 | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michigan State | AP | 18 | 19 | 20 | 19 | RV | 25 | | | | RV | RV | | RV | | RV | RV | | RV | 23 | |
| Michigan State | C | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 22 | RV | | | RV | RV | | RV | | RV | 25 | RV | RV | 22 | 7 |
| Minnesota | AP | RV | RV | RV | | | | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Minnesota | C | RV | RV | RV | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska | AP | 21 | 21 | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska | C | 21 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Northwestern | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Northwestern | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ohio State | AP | 20 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 21 | 20 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | 20 | 23 | 24 | RV | 23 | RV | RV | |
| Ohio State | C | 20 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 25 | RV | RV | 20 | 21 | 23 | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV |
| Penn State | AP | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Penn State | C | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Purdue | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | |
| Purdue | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Rutgers | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rutgers | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wisconsin | AP | 3 (8) | 3 (7) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | |
| Wisconsin | C | 4 (3) | 4 (2) | 3 (2) | 4 (2) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 |

## 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.
| Week | Player of the week | Freshman of the week |
| November 17, 2014 | Travis Trice, MSU | Vincent Edwards, PUR |
| November 24, 2014 | Shannon Scott, OSU | James Blackmon, Jr., IND |
| November 24, 2014 | Frank Kaminsky, WIS | James Blackmon, Jr., IND |
| December 1, 2014 | Melo Trimble, MAR | Melo Trimble, MAR |
| December 1, 2014 | D. J. Newbill, PSU | Melo Trimble, MAR |
| December 8, 2014 | Andre Hollins, MINN | D'Angelo Russell, OSU |
| December 15, 2014 | Maurice Walker, MINN | Melo Trimble (2), MAR |
| December 15, 2014 | Maurice Walker, MINN | Bryant McIntosh, NU |
| December 22, 2014 | Jake Layman, MAR | Nate Mason, MINN |
| December 22, 2014 | Troy Williams, IND | Nate Mason, MINN |
| December 29, 2014 | Frank Kaminsky (2), WIS | D'Angelo Russell (2), OSU |
| January 6, 2015 | Jarrod Uthoff, IOWA | Vincent Edwards (2), PUR |
| January 12, 2015 | Travis Trice (2), MSU | James Blackmon, Jr. (2), IND |
| January 19, 2015 | Jake Layman (2), MAR | D'Angelo Russell (3), OSU |
| January 26, 2015 | D'Angelo Russell, OSU | D'Angelo Russell (4), OSU |
| February 2, 2015 | Malcolm Hill, ILL | D'Angelo Russell (5), OSU |
| February 2, 2015 | Branden Dawson, MSU | D'Angelo Russell (5), OSU |
| February 9, 2015 | D'Angelo Russell (2), OSU | D'Angelo Russell (6), OSU |
| February 16, 2015 | Dez Wells, MAR | Vincent Edwards (3), PUR |
| February 16, 2015 | Frank Kaminsky (3), WIS | Vincent Edwards (3), PUR |
| February 23, 2015 | A. J. Hammons, PUR | Vic Law, NU |
| March 2, 2015 | Aaron White, IOWA | Melo Trimble (3), MAR |
| March 2, 2015 | Aaron White, IOWA | D'Angelo Russell (7), OSU |
| March 9, 2015 | Dez Wells (2), MAR | Aubrey Dawkins, MICH |
| March 9, 2015 | Frank Kaminsky (4), WIS | Aubrey Dawkins, MICH |
On December 23, 2014, Troy Williams was named Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers Association. On January 13, Travis Trice earned Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week recognition. On both January 27 and February 10, D'Angelo Russell was named Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Week. On the 27th, he was also named Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.

## Watchlists

Ferrell, Kaminsky, Trimble and Russell made the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list on January 14. On January 23, Dekker, Kaminsky and Trimble were named to the 17-man 2015 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List and Blackmon, Russell and Trimble were named to the 14-man 2015 Integris Wayman Tisdale Award Midseason Watch List. On that same day, Newbill and Kaminsky were named to the 30-man 2014–15 Senior CLASS Award Candidates. In February, Newbill and Kaminsky advanced to among the 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. Kaminsky and Russell were both named to the Naismith Trophy Award Midseason Top 30 Watch List. Colby Wollenman (Michigan State), Mike Gesell and Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa) and Shavon Shields (Nebraska) all made their respective Academic All-District teams on February 5, placing them among the 40 finalists for the 15 man Academic All-American team to be announced on February 28. The following players were finalists for positional awards: Bob Cousy Award: Ferrell and Trimble; Julius Erving Award: Dawson and Denzel Valentine, Petteway and Dekker; Karl Malone Award: Aaron White and Jake Layman; Jerry West Award: Blackmon and Russell; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award: Kaminsky. On March 2, Kaminsky and Russell were named to the 14-man 2015 Oscar Robertson Trophy Finalist List and Blackmon, Russell and Trimble were named to the 2015 10-man Integris Wayman Tisdale Award Finalist List.

## Honors and awards

Kaminsky won numerous national player of the year awards, including NABC Player of the Year, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Naismith College Player of the Year, John R. Wooden Award, and Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year.
The United States Basketball Writers Association named Michigan's Austin Hatch as its recipient for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Most Courageous Award for 2015. The College Sports Information Directors of America selected Shavon Shields of Nebraska and Mike Gesell of Iowa to its Capital One Academic All-America first and third teams, respectively. Both Russell and Trimble were named to the 2015 USBWA Freshman All-America Team by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
Conference players received lots of recognition as 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans: Kaminsky and Russell were both first-team selections by The Sporting News, while Trimble was a second team choice. Kaminsky and Russell were first team selections by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Kaminsky and Russell were the inaugural winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award and Jerry West Award. Colby Wollenman won the Elite 89 Award.

### All-Big Ten Awards and Teams

On March 9, The Big Ten announced most of its conference awards.
| Honor | Coaches | Media |
| Player of the Year | Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin | Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin |
| Coach of the Year | Bo Ryan, Wisconsin | Mark Turgeon, Maryland |
| Freshman of the Year | D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State | D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Rapheal Davis, Purdue | Not Selected |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Gabe Olaseni, Iowa | Not Selected |
| All Big Ten First Team | Yogi Ferrell, Indiana | Yogi Ferrell, Indiana |
| All Big Ten First Team | Aaron White, Iowa | Aaron White, Iowa |
| All Big Ten First Team | Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin | Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin |
| All Big Ten First Team | D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State | D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State |
| All Big Ten First Team | Dez Wells, Maryland | Melo Trimble, Maryland |
| All Big Ten Second Team | Melo Trimble, Maryland | Dez Wells, Maryland |
| All Big Ten Second Team | D. J. Newbill, Penn State | D. J. Newbill, Penn State |
| All Big Ten Second Team | Sam Dekker, Wisconsin | Sam Dekker, Wisconsin |
| All Big Ten Second Team | Branden Dawson, Michigan State | Branden Dawson, Michigan State |
| All Big Ten Second Team | A. J. Hammons, Purdue | A. J. Hammons, Purdue |
| All Big Ten Third Team | Denzel Valentine, Michigan State | Denzel Valentine, Michigan State |
| All Big Ten Third Team | Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin | Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin |
| All Big Ten Third Team | Travis Trice, Michigan State | Travis Trice, Michigan State |
| All Big Ten Third Team | Terran Petteway, Nebraska | Terran Petteway, Nebraska |
| All Big Ten Third Team | Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa | Jake Layman, Maryland |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Jake Layman, Maryland | Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Rayvonte Rice, Illinois | Rayvonte Rice, Illinois |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Malcolm Hill, Illinois | Malcolm Hill, Illinois |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Andre Hollins, Minnesota | Andre Hollins, Minnesota |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | James Blackmon, Jr., Indiana | James Blackmon, Jr., Indiana |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Troy Williams, Indiana | Troy Williams, Indiana |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Tre Demps, Northwestern | Tre Demps, Northwestern |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Rapheal Davis, Purdue | Rapheal Davis, Purdue |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Jon Octeus, Purdue | Jon Octeus, Purdue |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Not Selected | Maurice Walker, Minnesota |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Not Selected | Alex Olah, Northwestern |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Not Selected | Shannon Scott, Ohio State |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Not Selected | Sam Thompson, Ohio State |
| All Big Ten Honorable Mention | Not Selected | Myles Mack, Rutgers |
| All-Freshman Team | James Blackmon, Jr., Indiana | Not Selected |
| All-Freshman Team | D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State | Not Selected |
| All-Freshman Team | Melo Trimble, Maryland | Not Selected |
| All-Freshman Team | Bryant McIntosh, Northwestern | Not Selected |
| All-Freshman Team | Jae'Sean Tate, Ohio State | Not Selected |
| All Defensive Team | Nnanna Egwu, Illinois | Not Selected |
| All Defensive Team | Branden Dawson, Michigan State | Not Selected |
| All Defensive Team | Rapheal Davis, Purdue | Not Selected |
| All Defensive Team | A. J. Hammons, Purdue | Not Selected |
| All Defensive Team | Josh Gasser, Wisconsin | Not Selected |

### NABC

The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced their Division I All-District teams on March 27, 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.

### USBWA

On March 10, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association released its 2014–15 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.

## Postseason
### Big Ten tournament

* March 11–15, 2015 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament, United Center, Chicago.
2014 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament seeds and results :
| Seed | School | Conf. | Over. | Tiebreaker | First round March 11 | Second round March 12 | Quarterfinals March 13 | Semifinals March 14 | Championship March 15 |
| 1 | Wisconsin ‡ # | 16–2 | 28–3 | | Bye | Bye | Defeated Michigan 71–60 | Defeated Purdue 71–51 | Defeated Michigan State 80–69 |
| 2 | Maryland # | 14–4 | 26–5 | | Bye | Bye | Defeated Indiana 75–69 | Eliminated by Michigan State 58–62 | |
| 3 | Michigan State # | 12–6 | 21–10 | 2–0 vs Purdue, Iowa | Bye | Bye | Defeated Ohio State 76–67 | Defeated Maryland 62–58 | Eliminated by Wisconsin 69–80 |
| 4 | Purdue # | 12–6 | 20–11 | 1–1 vs Michigan State, Iowa | Bye | Bye | Defeated Penn State 64–59 | Eliminated by Wisconsin 51–71 | |
| 5 | Iowa | 12–6 | 21–10 | 0–2 vs Michigan State, Purdue | Bye | Eliminated by Penn State 69–72 | | | |
| 6 | Ohio State | 11–7 | 22–9 | | Bye | Defeated Minnesota 79–73 | Eliminated by Michigan State 67–76 | | |
| 7 | Indiana | 9–9 | 19–12 | 1–0 vs Illinois | Bye | Defeated Northwestern 71–56 | Eliminated by Maryland 69–75 | | |
| 8 | Illinois | 9–9 | 19–12 | 0–1 vs Indiana | Bye | Eliminated by Michigan 55–73 | | | |
| 9 | Michigan | 8–10 | 15–15 | | Bye | Defeated Illinois 73–55 | Eliminated by Wisconsin 60–71 | | |
| 10 | Northwestern | 6–12 | 15–16 | 1–0 vs Minnesota | Bye | Eliminated by Indiana 56–71 | | | |
| 11 | Minnesota | 6–12 | 17–14 | 0–1 vs Northwestern | Defeated Rutgers 88–68 | Eliminated by Ohio State 73–79 | | | |
| 12 | Nebraska | 5–13 | 13–17 | | Eliminated by Penn State 65–68 | | | | |
| 13 | Penn State | 4–14 | 16–15 | | Defeated Nebraska 68–65 | Defeated Iowa 67–58 | Eliminated by Purdue 59–64 | | |
| 14 | Rutgers | 2–16 | 10–21 | | Eliminated by Minnesota 68–80 | | | | |
| ‡ – Big Ten regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed. # – Received a bye in the conference tournament. Overall records include all games prior to the Big Ten tournament. ||||||||||

### NCAA tournament

The Big Ten Conference had seven bids to the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Michigan State and Wisconsin both reached the final four, with Wisconsin losing to Duke in the Championship Game.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 1 | West | Wisconsin | n/a | Defeated Coastal Carolina 86–72 | Defeated Oregon 72–65 | Defeated North Carolina 79–72 | Defeated Arizona 85–78 | Defeated Kentucky 71–64 | Eliminated by Duke 63–68 |
| 4 | Midwest | Maryland | n/a | Defeated Valparaiso 65–62 | Eliminated by West Virginia 59–69 | | | | |
| 7 | East | Michigan State | n/a | Defeated Georgia 70–63 | Defeated Virginia 60–54 | Defeated Oklahoma 62–58 | Defeated Louisville 76–70 OT | Eliminated by Duke 61–81 | |
| 7 | South | Iowa | n/a | Defeated Davidson 83–52 | Eliminated by Gonzaga 68–87 | | | | |
| 9 | Midwest | Purdue | n/a | Eliminated by Cincinnati 65–66 (OT) | | | | | |
| 10 | Midwest | Indiana | n/a | Eliminated by Wichita State 76–81 | | | | | |
| 10 | West | Ohio State | n/a | Defeated VCU 75–72 (OT) | Eliminated by Arizona 58–73 | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 5–2 (.714) | 2–3 (.400) | 2–0 (1.000) | 2–0 (1.000) | 1–1 (.500) | 0–1 (.000) Total: 12–7 (.632) |

### National Invitation tournament

Illinois earned the lone NIT bid for the conference.
| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 3 | Richmond | Illinois | Eliminated by Alabama 58–79 | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 0–1 (.000) |

### 2015 NBA draft

The following all-conference selections were listed as seniors: Frank Kaminsky, Aaron White, Dez Wells, D. J. Newbill, Branden Dawson, and Travis Trice. Sam Dekker, Terran Petteway, Walter Pitchford, and D'Angelo Russell declared early for the NBA draft before the April 26 deadline, but had until June 15 to withdraw their names. On May 7, Dekker, Dawson, Kaminsky, White, Wells, Pettaway, and Russell were invited to the NBA draft combine. Russell, Kaminsky, Dekkar, White and Dawson were drafted.
| Rnd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
| 1 | 2 | D'Angelo Russell | PG | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | Ohio State (Fr.) |
| 1 | 9 | Frank Kaminsky | PF/C | United States | Charlotte Hornets | Wisconsin (Sr.) |
| 1 | 18 | Sam Dekker | SF | United States | Houston Rockets (from New Orleans) | Wisconsin (Jr.) |
| 2 | 49 | Aaron White | PF | United States | Washington Wizards | Iowa (Sr.) |
| 2 | 56 | Branden Dawson | SF | United States | New Orleans Pelicans (from Memphis, traded to L.A. Clippers) | Michigan State (Sr.) |

#### Pre-draft trades

Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams.
* ↑ July 15, 2014: New Orleans Pelicans to Houston Rockets (three-team trade with Washington Wizards) Houston acquired Alonzo Gee, Scotty Hopson and a conditional 2015 first-round pick (protected top 3 and 20–30 in 2015) from New Orleans Houston acquired Trevor Ariza from Washington (sign and trade) New Orleans acquired Ömer Aşık, Omri Casspi and cash considerations from Houston Washington acquired Melvin Ely from New Orleans
* ↑ January 12, 2015: Memphis Grizzlies to New Orleans Pelicans (three-team trade with Boston Celtics) New Orleans acquired Quincy Pondexter and a 2015 second-round pick from Memphis Memphis acquired Russ Smith from New Orleans Memphis acquired Jeff Green from Boston Boston acquired Tayshaun Prince and a conditional first-round pick from Memphis Boston acquired Austin Rivers from New Orleans

#### Draft-day trades

The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.
* ↑ New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers trade L.A. Clippers acquired draft rights to 56th pick Branden Dawson New Orleans acquired cash considerations

### International play

On June 18, 2015 incoming Purdue commit Caleb Swanigan was announced as a member of the 12-man 2015 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team for the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. The team won the gold medal. Issac Haas (Purdue), Nigel Hayes (Wisconsin), Malcolm Hill (Illinois), Romelo Trimble (Maryland); Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) were among the 22 players selected to try out for the 12-man Team USA at the 2015 Pan American Games. Hayes Trimble and Valentine were among the 16 finalists for the team. Trimble and Valentine made the final 12-man team. The team earned the bronze medal.