The conference boasted a Final Four team, the National Player of the Year, three Sweet 16 teams, a tight conference race and some of the season’s best coaching performances.

Can it get any better?

You betcha.

Preliminary polls for next season have MSU, Purdue and Ohio State all in the Top 5 mix, with both MSU and Purdue receiving some love at No. 1 — MSU by the Chicago Tribune’s Shannon Ryan, Purdue by ESPN’s Andy Katz. Some of the best recruiting classes in the nation are rolling in, and there could be some elite All-American candidates around the conference. For once, the Big East might not have a choice but to take a backseat to the Big Ten.

When you can easily count the key players leaving the conference — Trevon Hughes, Raymar Morgan, Evan Turner, Chris Kramer, DeShawn Sims, Manny Harris — on two hands, you know it’s going to be a good year.

In the spirit of looking ahead, here’s my Preseason Big Ten Power Rankings for next year:

1. MSU — If the only players leaving are Raymar Morgan, Isaiah Dahlman and Jon Crandell, the Spartans should be a likely choice for the top team in the nation and the Big Ten. MSU will return eight of its top nine scorers and its leaders in every major category except field-goal shooting. Of course, this hinges on junior guards Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers returning for their senior seasons. Lucas needs to recover from surgery on his ruptured Achilles’ tendon and sophomore forward Delvon Roe also will have surgery. With Lucas, Roe and junior guard Chris Allen healthy and the growth this team showed in its Final Four run, it’d be a disappointment for them not to win everything.

2. Purdue — This year’s Final Four won’t be in their home state of Indiana, but the Boilermakers still will be a favorite to make it to the national semifinals in 2011. Their big three — Robbie Hummel, E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson — all return for one last go-around as the most complete trio in college basketball. Don’t underestimate the value of departing guard Chris Kramer, who was a lockdown defender and steals guy while also emerging as a decent point guard during Purdue’s NCAA Tournament run. The knock on them will be depth and how much their bench can contribute.

3. Ohio State — Even without National Player of the Year Evan Turner, still expect Ohio State to be extremely competitive. He’s the only member of the Buckeyes’ starting five leaving, and they’ll add much-needed depth with a highly touted recruiting class that includes the top-rated player in the nation, Jared Sullinger. That loss to Tennessee is going to sting awhile in Columbus, but the Buckeyes should return with a vengeance.

4. Illinois — The Fighting Illini return the most depth of any team in the conference. They lose only two players from their entire roster, neither of whom contributed. They have an excellent point guard, skilled big men and wings and a strong coach in Bruce Weber. Throw three strong incoming freshmen into the mix and Illinois won’t be on the NCAA Tournament bubble this year — they’ll be a lock.

5. Minnesota — We saw what the Golden Gophers were capable of when they went on a run in this year’s Big Ten Tournament. Fortunately for Minnesota fans, they have a great group of talent returning — as well as their head coach. If Tubby Smith doesn’t bolt, he’ll be guiding the most balanced inside-outside group in the Big Ten.

6. Northwestern — If this was supposed to be the year for the Wildcats, they’ll have an even better shot in 2010-11. Picture this: Northwestern was teetering on the brink of Top 25 status and an NCAA Tournament berth without stud Kevin Coble and impact player Jeff Ryan. If both those upperclassmen can receive medical redshirts to have another shot at their senior season, this will be the year.

7. Wisconsin — The Badgers overachieved this season, but a large part of that was thanks to the veteran backcourt of Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon. With those two guards gone, Wisconsin will have to rely more on Jon Leuer and the mind of head coach Bo Ryan. They’ll be certain to cause trouble again, but this might be the first year MSU could go to Madison and beat the Badgers under Ryan’s tenure.

8. Indiana — Fans in Bloomington, Ind., are starting to get antsy with head coach Tom Crean, and he’s vowed to make this the turnaround year. With leading scorer Maurice Creek returning from injury around a core of underclassmen who banded together last season, Crean adds two more skilled recruits. Give it time, and the Hoosiers will be back in the mix. They’re still going to be better than last year, though.

9. Iowa — I thought former head coach Todd Lickliter was getting a bad shake being let go after three seasons with the Hawkeyes. He was bringing in skilled young players (Cully Payne, Matt Gatens, Aaron Fuller, Eric May) who were doing 90 percent of Iowa’s scoring. That can only improve.

10. Penn State — No team in the Big Ten relies on a single player more than the Nittany Lions have relied on guard Talor Battle. If he follows through on his declaration for the draft (he didn’t hire an agent), they’ll be in serious trouble and would drop to the 11-spot.

11. Michigan — The Wolverines are the only team that, on paper, are not improving. They presumably lose Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims and aren’t bringing in a whole lot else. Without a go-to scorer, what happens when the Wolverines aren’t red-hot from deep? The losses will continue to pile up for head coach John Beilein.

Joey Nowak is a State News men’s basketball reporter. He can be reached at nowakjo2@msu.edu..