Nine of the Big Ten’s 14 teams finished the regular season with a winning record. Four teams remain ranked among the nation’s Top 25 and three others are likely candidates for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

College Basketball Bookies

The final weekend of the regular season was a wild one as Wisconsin lost to Nebraska, Purdue beat Indiana by two and Illinois knocked off Iowa 74-72 to earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Which team will prevail in this week’s conference tournament? Here are the 2022 Big Ten conference tournament odds and picks.

Purdue Favored

The Boilermakers are the highest ranked Big Ten team at No. 9, but Purdue struggled over the last two weeks of the season. Before beating the Hoosiers 69-67 on the final day of the regular season, Purdue lost to Michigan State 68-65 and to Wisconsin 70-67. Both games were on the road.

Still, Purdue is given +220 odds to win the Big Ten title. The Boilermakers haven’t won a conference tournament title since 2009. They were seeded third that season. The top seed in the conference tournament has only won once (Michigan State in 2019) in the past five seasons.

Purdue is the second-highest scoring team (80.7 ppg) and ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten in offensive efficiency.

College Basketball Odds

The Contenders

Iowa is the top scoring team in the conference averaging over 83 points per game. The Hawkeyes won five straight before losing the regular season finale to No. 20 Illinois. The Hawkeyes are given +400 odds to win the tournament, but they lost to Purdue twice, Illinois twice, and Wisconsin once this season.

The Illini are given better odds at +370 to win. 7-footer Kofi Cockburn averages 21 points per game and Illinois is strong on both ends of the floor. The Illini did lose to Purdue twice and Ohio State once but beat Wisconsin and Iowa.

Sleepers

Out on the fringe are programs like Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Rutgers. The Buckeyes are given the best odds of the four at +1000. EJ Liddell is one of the best players in the conference averaging 19.4 points a game, but Ohio State lost three of its last four games.

Michigan has been inconsistent all season, but the Wolverines (+1200) did beat Purdue and Ohio State this season. Michigan State is in the same boat. The Spartans (+2500) have a number of quality wins, but they finished the season with just three wins in their last ten games.

Rutgers (+1300) is interesting as they scored four consecutive wins – Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Illinois – over ranked opponents earlier this season.

College Basketball Predictions

2022 Big Ten Basketball Tournament Prediction

Purdue certainly has the type of team that can win it all. They are big up front and have solid guard play from Jaden Ivey (17.2 ppg). But, the Boilermakers haven’t been sharp lately.

Illinois is very good on both sides of the ball and Cockburn is one of the conference’s best players. Wisconsin is outstanding on defense and would have won the regular season title had they not been upset by Nebraska. Plus, the Badgers lost star Johnny Davis to an injury in that game. He is expected back but he may not be at full strength.

Ohio State or one of the other sleepers could make a run for the title, but it all comes back to Purdue. They are experienced, huge up front, and Ivey is one of the nation’s better guards. The Boilermakers have beaten Illinois and Iowa twice. This is their tournament to lose.

PICK: BOILERMAKERS +220

Best Sports Handicappers

2022 Big Ten Conference Tournament Betting Lines

Purdue +220

Illinois +370

Iowa +400

Wisconsin +750

Ohio State +1000

Michigan +1200

Rutgers +1300

Michigan State +2500

Indiana +2500

Maryland +10000

Northwestern +15000

Penn State +20000

Nebraska +50000

Minnesota +50000

Check out our 2022 Big 12 basketball tournament preview next.