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Big Ten Betting: Race for Second Heating Up

Purdue is closing in on the Big Ten regular-season title with a two-game lead on Illinois and three games remaining in the regular season.

When looking at the college basketball picks, both the home teams won in the two Big Ten games played on Thursday. The home teams are 5-1 from Tuesday to Thursday after the road team won three of the four games played on Sunday.

Big Ten Betting: Race for Second Heating Up
Steven Crowl #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers | Andy Lyons/Getty Images/AFP

Other than Purdue leading the conference and Michigan sitting in last place, the other seeds for the upcoming Big Ten tournament might come down to the final day of the regular season.

There are five games featuring teams with winning records set to square off this weekend, so there is plenty for those who bet online to consider.

Purdue moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press poll and remained third in the USA Today coaches poll. Illinois dropped one spot to No. 13 in the AP rankings and went from 12th to 16th in the coaches poll. No other Big Ten team is in the top 25 in either national poll.

Purdue is second, Illinois is 16th, Wisconsin is 22nd and Michigan State is 24th in the NCAA NET rankings, one of the tools used to select and seed the NCAA Tournament field. The next Big Ten team is No. 43 Nebraska with Northwestern not far behind at No. 48.

When looking at the college basketball futures odds, Purdue (+750) has the second-best odds of winning the national championship. Illinois (+3500) and Wisconsin (+6000) are the next Big Ten teams listed.

 

1. Illinois (21-7 SU, 14-11-3 ATS) at Wisconsin (18-10, 11-16-1 ATS)

  • Date/Time: Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m. ET
  • Illinois vs Wisconsin Live Stream: TBS.com

 

This could be the best game of the weekend in the Big Ten. Illinois is looking to hold onto second place in the Big Ten. Wisconsin is sitting in fourth place in the conference standings.

Wisconsin is 13-2 at home this season but overall, the Badgers have lost four of their last six games. After a recent tough stretch, Steven Crowl is averaging 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds over his last four games.

Illinois lost its most recent road game to Penn State despite 35 points from Terrance Shannon Jr.

Illinois has won its last six games against Wisconsin, with four of those victories by at least 10 points. Wisconsin’s last win in the series came in 2019.

Three of the last four games between Illinois and Wisconsin went over the total.

Wisconsin is only 7-7-1 against the Las Vegas odds at home. The Badgers lead the Big Ten with 11 of their games going over the total. Eight of the road games for Illinois have also gone over the total.

 

2. Iowa (17-12 SU, 11-17-1 ATS) at Northwestern (20-8 SU, 15-11-2 ATS)

  • Date/Time: Saturday, March 2, 5:30 p.m. ET
  • Iowa vs Northwestern Live Stream: TBS.com

 

Thanks to a 14-1 record at home, Northwestern is sitting alone in third place in the Big Ten standings heading into the weekend, The Wildcats have won three games in a row, the longest active winning streak in the Big Ten.

Ryan Langborg has 46 points and nine 3-pointers over the last two games for Northwestern.

Iowa is just 3-8 on the road this season after falling to Illinois in its most recent road contest. Payton Sandfort had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as Iowa rebounded from that loss by topping Penn State at home.

Northwestern snapped a nine-game losing streak to Iowa with a 20-point home win the last time the teams met. It has been nearly a decade since the Wildcats won consecutive games against Iowa.

In four of the last five games that Iowa played at Northwestern, the game went over the total.

Northwestern is 8-6-1 against the college basketball lines at home while Iowa has covered in four of its 11 road contests.

 

3. Michigan State (17-11 SU, 15-12-1 ATS) at Purdue (25-3 SU, 15-11-2 ATS)

  • Date/Time: Saturday, March 2, 8 p.m. ET
  • Michigan State vs Purdue Live Stream: TBS.com

 

If Illinois stumbles on the road against Wisconsin, Purdue can wrap up the top seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament with a win over the Spartans.

Purdue has won its last six home games against Michigan State. The Spartans have covered in just two of those contests.

The Boilermakers have won seven of the last eight games against Michigan State and the last time the teams met, they won 77-61 as an eight-point favorite.

Consecutive games between Purdue and Michigan State haven’t gone over the total since 2017.

Michigan State has dropped its last two games after a three-game winning streak. Malik Hall is averaging 20 points over those last five games. He is putting up 26.2 points and 12.6 rebounds per contest over that stretch.

Michigan State is only 3-4-1 against the spread on the road this season. Minnesota has covered in six of its seven road games.

 

 

Questions Of The Day

Which Big Ten team has had the most games go over the total this season?


Illinois has seen 20 games land over the total during the 2023-24 season while 19 games played by Iowa and Purdue have landed over the total.

Which Big Ten teams have the best road records?


Since the start of the 2022-23 season, only Purdue (13-6) has the best road record among Big Ten teams. Northwestern is the only other team with a winning road record during that time.

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