Big Ten Tournament Odds, Preview, and Schedule – Boilermakers Favored to Win

Time Stamp: March 8, 2022 8:42 PM
  • The #9 Purdue Boilermakers are the +175 favorites to win the Big Ten Tournament
  • Defending champion #16 Illinois is the second-favorite at +275
  • See the Big Ten Tournament odds for 2022 plus betting predictions, below

As always, it’s a deep field that will be contesting this year’s Big Ten Tournament. Four of the top-25 teams in NCAA men’s basketball reside within the conference.

This year’s Big Ten Tournament gets underway Wednesday in Indianapolis. CBS will be carrying the championship game on Sunday, March 13 at 3:30pm ET. Purdue and Illinois are the betting favorites heading into the opening round on Wednesday.

2022 Big Ten Tournament Odds

School Odds
Purdue +175
Illinois +275
Iowa +400
Wisconsin +800
Ohio State +1200
Michigan +1400
Rutgers +1400
Michigan State +1600
Indiana +2200
Northwestern +6600
Penn State +8000
Maryland +10000
Minnesota +10000
Nebraska +10000

Odds as of March 7th at Barstool Sportsbook. See the college basketball odds page for individual game odds. 

At +1500 in the NCAA Tournament odds, the #9 Purdue Boilermakers are set as the +175 chalk. They’ll get competition from among the #12 Wisconsin Badgers, #16 Illinois Illinois and #24 Iowa Hawkeyes. All four schools are seeded at #6 or better in SBD’s NCAA bracket projections.

Although unranked nationally, the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, and Ohio State Buckeyes always prove to be tough outs

Illinois beat Ohio State in last year’s final.

Last Five Big Ten Tournament Winners

Big Ten Champion Year
Illinois 2021
Not Held 2020
Michigan State 2019
Michigan 2018
Michigan 2017
Michigan State 2016

Boilermakers Stumble Into Tournament

Purdue stopped the bleeding from a two-game losing skid, edging the Indiana Hoosiers 69-67 in the final regular-season game for both schools. The Boilermakers finished the regular season 14-6 in Big Ten play. That was one game behind regular-season co-champions Wisconsin and Illinois, both 15-5.

Purdue is the Big Ten’s #2 offense, averaging 80.3 points per game. Defensively, though, the Boilermakers look susceptible. They rank #9, allowing 68.8 ppg.

They are led by sophomore guard Jaden Ivey. Projected as a top-five pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Ivey is eighth in Big Ten scoring. He’s accounting for 17.2 ppg. Sophomore center Zach Edey is the Big Ten leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.667).

Defending Champion Illini Earn Top Seeding

The Illini are getting the job done at both ends of the floor. Illinois is #3 in the conference in scoring offense (76.2 ppg) and #5 in scoring defense (67.7 ppg). They lead the Big Ten in rebounding, pulling down 38.7 boards per game.

Junior center Kofi Cockburn is the conference leader in rebounding (10.6 rpg). He’s also second in Big Ten scoring (21.0 ppg).

However, the Illini lost both regular-season games to Purdue by a combined margin of 24 points. Illinois is 2-0 against Wisconsin and Iowa.

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Davis Status a Concern for Badgers

Wisconsin also is entering the Big Ten Tournament off a stumble that could turn into a great fall. A 74-73 upset home loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers that cost Wisconsin the Big Ten regular-season crown was compounded by an ankle injury to Badgers star Johnny Davis.

The Big Ten Player of the Year, Davis is third in conference scoring with 20.0 ppg, Wisconsin isn’t a powerful presence on offence. The Badgers are 10th in the Big Ten, netting just 71.0 ppg. They can ill-afford to be without Davis.

Wisconsin is +1150 in the Final Four odds.

Big Ten Sleepers to Consider

Michigan finished the regular season 4-4. Coach Juwan Howard is returning from a five-game NCAA suspension following an altercation with Wisconsin coach Greg Gard. Will that give the Wolverines an emotional lift?

Coach Tom Izzo always seems to have his Spartans ready at tournament time. Still, it’s hard to get excited about a seventh seeded Michigan State team that’s 2-5 over the past seven games.

Ohio State was ranked to start the season. The Buckeyes show wins over Illinois and Duke but they’ve lost to Nebraska, Maryland and Indiana.

Iowa is 5-1 in the past six. However, the Hawkeyes are 0-5 this season against ranked teams.

Rutgers is the Big Ten’s top defensive team, allowing just 65.2 ppg. Senior guard Caleb McConnell shows a conference-leading 2.2 steals per game.  Offensively, the Scarlet Knights are 12th-ranked at 67.7 ppg. Junior guard Paul Mulcahy is #2 in the Big Ten with 5.2 assists per game.

Big Ten Tournament Prediction

At Big Ten tourney time, one is the loneliest number. Just one of the past five and two of the last eight Big Ten Tournaments were won by the #1 seed.

Three twos, a three, a five and an eight seed have earned the title over that span. It speaks to the depth of talented teams within the conference.

That’s what makes the Boilermakers such a solid play. Purdue comes in as the #3 seed.

Pick: Purdue Boilermakers (+175)

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