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If you like wide-open conference tournaments, you’ll want to tune into the Big Ten this week. There are six teams with odds shorter than +1000 to win the Big Ten tournament at Caesars Sportsbook, the most of any power conference. There were also eight Big Ten teams that finished with a winning record in conference play, tied with the SEC for the most of any power conference.
The Big Ten tournament will have 15 teams in action at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Three first-round games kick off the tournament on Wed., March 12, with four second-round battles on Thurs., March 13 and another four in the quarterfinals on Fri., March 14.
Below is a look at the entire conference tournament schedule, with the five-day event concluding with the championship on Sun., March 16.
Big Ten Tournament Schedule
First Round (March 12)
FR1: No. 13 Northwestern vs. No. 12 Minnesota
FR2: No. 15 Iowa vs. No. 10 Ohio State
FR3: No. 14 USC vs. No. 11 Rutgers
Second Round (March 13)
SR1: No. 9 Oregon vs. No. 8 Indiana
SR2: Winner of FR1 vs. No. 5 Wisconsin
SR3: Winner of FR2 vs. No. 7 Illinois
SR4: Winner of FR3 vs. No. 6 Purdue
Quarterfinals (March 14)
QF1: Winner of SR1 vs. No. 1 Michigan State
QF2: Winner of SR2 vs. No. 4 UCLA
QF3: Winner of SR3 vs. No. 2 Maryland
QF4: Winner of SR4 vs. No. 3 Michigan
Semifinals (March 15)
SF1: QF1 winner vs. QF2 winner
SF2: QF3 winner vs. QF4 winner
Final (March 16)
SF1 winner vs. SF2 winner
Michigan State is the +250 favorite to win the Big Ten tournament after having won the regular-season crown by three games. The Spartans enter this bracket on an absolute roll having won seven straight games, with six of them coming against teams seeded No. 7 or better in this conference tournament. Jaden Akins is the team’s leading scorer at 12.9 points per game but Michigan State has kicked things into another gear thanks to the emergence of freshman Jase Richardson. Richardson is averaging 16.9 points over his last nine games and is now up to 11.6 points per game on the season.
Another freshman who has been even better than Richardson is Maryland big man Derik Queen. Queen and senior Julian Reese form a potent duo down low, and they are a key reason behind No. 2 seed Maryland having the second-lowest Big Ten tournament odds at +400. Meanwhile, No. 3 Michigan has the seventh-best price to win the Big Ten tournament at +1500, as the Wolverines have lost their past three games and haven’t won a game by more than four points since Jan. 12. The Wolverines are led by a pair of big men as well, with Vlad Goldin (16.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Danny Wolf (12.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg) serving as their top scorers and rebounders.
No. 7 Illinois and No. 6 Purdue are tied for the third-lowest Big Ten tournament odds at +600, with No. 5 Wisconsin (+650) and No. 4 UCLA (+700) each close behind. Red-hot Oregon enters this week on a seven-game winning streak, as the No. 9 seed is listed at +2500. No. 8 Indiana (+4500), No. 10 Ohio State (+6500) and No. 11 Rutgers (+10000) are the only other teams with odds shorter than +20000 to emerge victorious from Indianapolis. The Scarlet Knights need to win the Big Ten tournament to go dancing, but they do have two of the top NBA prospects in the conference with star freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.
So which contender should you back to win a wide-open Big Ten tournament? SportsLine expert Thomas Casale has selected Maryland to come out on top, as he believes the Terrapins’ strong starting five will overcome a tough tournament draw. But which teams are the experts backing in all the other conference tournaments? You can get the best bets for each tournament at SportsLine, along with the SportsLine Projection Model’s simulations for every game.
