Big Ten March Madness Bubble Watch: 8 Teams are Solid Picks

· Mar 11 - 4 minutes read

Get the best Big Ten basketball odds at BetUS.
Six Big Ten teams are in the top 25 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Read on for my March Madness breakdown for Big Ten teams this week.

There are already eight Big Ten teams with at least 20 victories heading into the conference tournament, so there is plenty to play for in one of the more anticipated of the conference tourneys.

Big Ten March Madness Bubble Watch: 8 Teams are Solid Picks — The Michigan State Spartans Pose With the Big Ten Regular Season Championship Trophy | Michigan. Rey Del Rio/getty Images/afp

Ohio State will be the first of the Big Ten bubble teams in action as the Buckeyes face Iowa in the second of the three games being played on Wednesday in Indianapolis. The Big Ten title game is set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Led by No. 7 Michigan State, six Big Ten teams are in the top 25 in the NCAA NET rankings with all of them hoping for spots in the March Madness bracket.

Michigan State (+2000) has the shortest NCAAB March Madness odds among Big Ten teams. Maryland (+4000), Wisconsin (+5000), Illinois (+8000), Oregon (+8000) and Purdue (+8000) are other teams to watch in the championship odds.

Big Ten March Madness Analysis

Will Bubble Burst for Ohio State and Indiana?

With eight Big Ten teams in the top 30 in the NCAA NET rankings, there isn’t much room for bubble teams.

Up Next ➡️ We got Iowa in Indianapolis for Day 1 of the B1G Tournament.

🆚 Iowa
🗓️ Wednesday Mar. 12
📍 Gainbridge Fieldhouse
⏰ 6 PM
📺 Peacock#Team126|#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/DXM2UToi0g

— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops)March 10, 2025

Ohio State leads the way as the Buckeyes are just 9-11 in conference play. Ohio State is 2-4 in the last six games with one of the wins coming in double overtime. Three Quad 2 losses are hard to ignore. Ohio State could help itself with a deep run in the Big Ten tournament.

Indiana wasn’t even viewed as a bubble team a few weeks ago when head coach Mike Woodson’s departure at the end of the season made college basketball news.

Indiana has won four of its last five games and the Hoosiers are just outside the top 50 in the NCAA NET rankings. If Indiana gets by Oregon in its tournament opener, a rested Michigan State team would be waiting in the quarterfinals.

Surprising Maryland Top Challenger to Michigan State

Michigan State is the top seed for the Big Ten tournament. The college basketball futures odds have the Spartans priced at +200 to win the conference tournament followed by Maryland (+400), Wisconsin (+600), UCLA (+650), Purdue (+650) and Illinois (+700).

The 2025 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket is set!

Get your tickets: https://t.co/3mChgjOFhF pic.twitter.com/9Hqis2LMzL

— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 9, 2025

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t see Maryland as the No. 2 Big Ten tournament favorite when the season began.

Michigan State switched places with Maryland to crack the top 10 in the NCAA NET rankings. The Spartans led the Big Ten with 12 Quad 1 wins, per NCAAB betting trends.

Maryland joins UCLA and Oregon as the only other Big Ten teams with winning records in Quad 1 games.

Purdue has struggled at times without National Player of the Year Zach Edey. A 7-9 record in Quad 1 matchups are keeping the Boilermakers outside the top 10 in the NCAA NET rankings.

Illinois, Wisconsin, UCLA, Michigan and Oregon all look good to make the March Madness field.

Northwestern, Iowa Among Teams With March Madness Odds Against Them

Northwestern, Nebraska, Penn State and Iowa all have winning records. However, it is hard to see any of them on the March Madness radar until one of them makes a run at the Big Ten tournament title.