As of last week, USCHO released their preseason rankings and it’s good news for the Big Ten. Six of the seven teams in the conference are ranked in the national top-20; three of them in the top-9. The usual suspects, Minnesota and Michigan, are the near the top, but a surprise team slots in at #9: Michigan State. This is the Spartans’ highest preseason ranking since joining the Big Ten. Ohio State and Notre Dame both took a tumble based off of where they finished last year and Wisconsin is the lone Big Ten team that didn’t make the list. The full rankings can be viewed here.