Despite the depth of the Big Ten, there's a clear favorite to win its conference tournament.
Second-seeded Michigan State is even money, with Indiana and Purdue (both on the other side of the bracket) behind. The field is listed at 25-to-1, with Michigan and Ohio State the highest seeds in that group.
MORE: Full Big Ten schedule, bracket
TeamRankings.com gives Sparty a 40 percent chance to win the Big Ten Tournament, which would imply odds of +150, but with the juice accounted for, even money isn't too far off. Be sure to calculate the juice on all your futures bets to make sure you're getting the best odds possible. Here's a primer on how to do that.
Here's all the betting information you need for the Big Ten Tournament, which starts Wednesday in Indianapolis and ends Sunday afternoon.
Big Ten Tournament betting odds
Michigan State EVEN
Indiana 7-2
Purdue 9-2
Maryland 8
Iowa 10
Wisconsin 22
Field 25
More tournament previews: ACC
NCAA Tournament odds
Michigan State 5-1
Maryland 20-1
Indiana 25-1
Iowa 40-1
Purdue 50-1
Wisconsin 100-1
Michigan 300-1
Ohio State 300-1
Northwestern 2000-1
The format
The first 10 seeds get byes and the first four get through to the quarterfinals. Those teams are Indiana, Michigan State, Maryland and Purdue. The teams that didn't receive byes and have to play in the opening round are Minnesota-Illinois and Rutgers-Nebraska. Penn State got a bye for the first time in school history.
The contenders
Michigan State (even) was scary good down the stretch and is considered a favorite to win the NCAA Tournament. Sparty ranks third in overall efficiency by KenPom and first offensively. They have the highest 3-point percentage in the country and rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive effective field goal percentage. There may not be a more complete team in college basketball.
That's evidenced by Michigan State's utter dominance to close the regular season. The Spartans have covered 11 straight games (10-1 SU, loss at Purdue) and all but one of those wins has come by double digits. Eight of those 11 games went OVER, as well.
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Indiana (7-2) is playing terrific team basketball right now, and despite going 4-12 SU in this tournament in the last 12 years, the Hoosiers seemed prime for a run. They covered four of their last five, five of their last seven and 10-8 ATS in Big Ten play.
Indiana can score (2nd nationally in effective field goal percentage) and rebound (15th in offensive rebound percentage) when it misses. While still not great defensively, their 67th efficiency rating on that end is a big step up from last season and the Hoosiers' third best in eight seasons under Tom Crean.
Purdue (9-2) boasts incredible size and that's shown in its stats — fifth in opponents effective field goal percentage, 13th in defending 2-point shots and fourth at limiting opponents' offensive boards. Another reason to like the Boilermakers is their depth — they rank 24th nationally in bench minutes.
Purdue's final four games went OVER and it covered three of those four. But before that, it went 0-4 ATS.
Maryland (8-1) lags behind the previous three despite earning the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Terps entered the season as the fourth betting choice to win the national title, but haven't lived up to expectations. They closed the season 2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS.
Maryland ranks 24th in KenPom's ratings, fifth among Big Ten teams. It's a balanced group that defends especially well (UNDER is 14-4 in Big Ten play).
Iowa (10-1) looked like a real NCAA Tournament contender a few months ago, but a late-season slide (2-5 SU, 1-6 ATS) has likely squashed those hopes. Still, the Hawkeyes should contend in this tournament. They've already beaten and covered against Purdue, the team it would see in its second game, twice.
MORE: ACC throws shade at Maryland by having tournament in D.C.
The UNDER went 7-4 to close the season for Iowa. It ranks 17th in overall efficiency (21st offense, 27th defense). The Hawkeyes do play a clean game, ranking 10th in opponent's free throw rate, but 247th offensively.
Wisconsin (22-1) looked doomed early under Greg Gard, but finished strong at 10-3 ATS and 11-2 SU. It also closed 7-1 on the UNDER. It will face the winner of Nebraska-Rutgers, then Maryland if it wins the first game.
The Badgers don't do one thing particularly well, and their biggest weakness is defending the 3-pointer — they rank 327th nationally there. That could be a problem against a team like Michigan State, if it gets there.
Michigan (25-1, field) lost Caris Levert, its best player, for the season, though he didn't play much anyway while dealing with injury. The Wolverines were hit or miss all season, going 15-15 ATS and 8-10 ATS in Big Ten play. The OVER did go 18-10-1 and 11-6-1 in conference for Michigan.
One selling point if you want to back Michigan — John Beilein is 47-25-2 ATS career in the postseason.
Opening lines
Illinois (-8, 137.5) vs. Minnesota
Minnesota suspended three players last month, and the distractions seem to have caught up. The Gophers got routed at Rutgers and lost their last three ATS. Eight does seem like too many points, but it's tough to back Minnesota here. We'll take the UNDER.
MORE: College hoops live odds page
Rutgers vs. Nebraska (-14, 140.5)
Rutgers nearly went winless in Big Ten play before stomping Minnesota at home to end the season. On a neutral court, this number is a little too high — it should probably be closer to 11 or 12 — so if you can stomach it, back the Scarlet Knights. *throws up in mouth*
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