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Big Ten March Madness Bubble Watch: Red-Hot Oregon Boosts Odds
- Get the best Big Ten college basketball odds at BetUS.
- Seven 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.
Will the top seed in the upcoming Big Ten men’s basketball tournament come down to the regular-season finale between Michigan and Michigan State? Michigan State went into Ann Arbor and rolled to a double-digit point victory over rival Michigan when listed by the BetUS sportsbook as a 3.5-point underdog.
However, the Spartans are just third among Big Ten teams in the NCAA NET rankings, one of the tools used to select and seed the March Madness bracket. The top six teams in the Big Ten are separated by just 2½ games so stay tuned for a wild finish over the last two weeks of the regular season.
When making college basketball predictions, keep in mind that Maryland and Oregon have the longest active winning streaks among the Big Ten squads.
While no Big Ten teams are in the top 10 in the NCAA NET rankings, seven teams are in the top 25 so plenty of Big Ten teams should be in the field of 68 in the March Madness bracket.
Michigan State (+3500) and Wisconsin (+4000) have the shortest odds of winning March Madness among Big Ten teams. Maryland (+5000), Michigan (+5000), and Purdue (+5500) are other teams to watch in the championship odds.
Keeping up with the contenders and the bubble teams in the Big Ten is no easy task but BetUS has you covered.
Big Ten March Madness Analysis
Streaking Oregon Tops List of Big Ten Bubble Teams
Oregon is doing its best to move out of bubble team territory with a four-game winning streak, culminated by an overtime win at Wisconsin on Saturday with Nathan Bittle leading the way with 23 points.
Best in the B1G this week 😤@Nathanbittle33 has been named @bigten Player of the Week! #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/Alt4XJIgFa
— Oregon Men’s Basketball (@OregonMBB) February 24, 2025
The Ducks won’t play a ranked team in their final three games during the regular season.
Oregon has picked up three Quad 1 wins in its last four games to move up to No. 32 in the NCAA NET rankings. Can Oregon defy the college basketball odds by earning a spot in the March Madness bracket?
Ohio State has lost three games in a row and a 21-point home loss to Northwestern was the low point for the Buckeyes. Ohio State is now 7-10 in conference play, 5-9 in Quad 1 games and is now at No. 35 in the NCAA NET rankings, per NCAAB betting trends.
Ohio State is quickly approaching a scenario where the Buckeyes will need to win the Big Ten tournament to reach the March Madness bracket. Nebraska has some solid wins against Creighton, UCLA and Illinois, but the Huskers have fallen eight spots to No. 54 in the NCAA NET rankings.
A 17-point loss to Penn State won’t help Nebraska’s hopes of making the NCAA tournament. The Huskers squandered a chance to help their case as Nebraska fell at home on Monday despite holding Michigan to 49 points.
Struggles Not Helping Purdue’s March Madness Odds
Purdue, which reached the 2024 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament title game, is headed in the wrong direction as March approaches. A 73-58 loss to unranked Indiana extended the Boilermakers’ losing streak to four games.
The Boilermakers fell five spots to No. 19 in the NCAA NET rankings with a 7-8 record in Quad 1 games.
Michigan State leads all Big Ten teams with eight Quad 1 wins. However, No. 11 Maryland and No. 13 Wisconsin are the Big Ten teams leading the way in the NCAA NET rankings.
Talkin’ Terps with Coach Willard Presented by Window Nation 2/24 https://t.co/U6Qz2uwLaz
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) February 25, 2025
Michigan is 7-3 in Quad 1 games but 6-3 in Quad 2 contests and that has the Wolverines outside the top 20 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Illinois didn’t look like a March Madness team after making college basketball news with a 43-point loss to Duke at Madison Square Garden. The final two games in the regular season are against Michigan and Purdue so there is a chance to move up in the NCAA NET rankings.
Despite going 7-7 against Quad 1 teams, UCLA comes in at No. 25 in the NCAA NET rankings.
The Michigan State vs Maryland, UCLA vs Purdue, Wisconsin vs Michigan State and Illinois vs Michigan games are the ones to watch over the next several days.
Michigan State leads the way at -125 in the odds of winning the Big Ten title followed by Michigan (+140) and Maryland (+600) according to the college basketball futures odds.
March Madness Longshots
Indiana is coming off the upset of Purdue to move up a bit in the NCAA NET rankings. Since losing to Wisconsin, the Hoosiers have been a solid online bet. They lost to Michigan by three points, won at Michigan State and had a chance to take the lead in the final 10 seconds against UCLA heading into the matchup with Purdue. This might not be a fun team to meet in the Big Ten tournament.
Northwestern, which is 3-8 in Quad 1 games and has five Quad 2 losses, has won 11 of its 15 games at home but has just one road win this season.
Iowa is just 1-10 in Quad 1 games and 0-4 against the ranked teams while Penn State is ahead of only Washington in the Big Ten standings.
Check Out Last Week’s Big Ten March Madness Bubble Teams Stats
Questions Of The Day
Which Big Ten team has the best record against the spread?
Wisconsin is 18-9 against the college basketball spread while Michigan State has a 17-9-1 ATS record.
How many Big Ten teams played in the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament?
Six. Illinois, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin were all in the field of 68 with Purdue reaching the title game. Oregon also made the field in its final season in the Pac-12.
Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets
