Games to Bet in the Big Ten This Week
The Big Ten has three teams ranked in the Top 25 in the latest Associated Press poll led by No. 1 Purdue while three other teams are among the other teams receiving votes so that could make for some compelling matchups when it comes to making NCAAB picks.
Purdue snapped a four-game road losing streak against Maryland thanks to a big game by National Player of the Year front-runner Zach Edey while nationally ranked Illinois and Wisconsin posted home wins in the first Big Ten games of 2024.
The college basketball betting lines have host Ohio State and Nebraska as the favorites in Big Ten games set for Wednesday.
When looking at the college basketball futures odds, Purdue (+850) has the best odds of winning the national championship. Unranked Michigan (+2800) is the next Big Ten team listed.
- Hoosiers (10-3 SU, 6-7 ATS) vs Cornhuskers (11-2 SU, 8-5 ATS)
- Date/Time: Wednesday, January 9, 6 p.m. ET
- Hoosiers vs Cornhuskers Live Stream: TBS.com
Indiana has won the last seven meetings against Nebraska. However, the host Cornhuskers are listed by our sportsbook as a 5.5-point favorite.
Six of the last seven games between the teams finished over the total and that includes each of the last two matchups.
Two of Indiana’s three losses have come against UConn and Kansas, the last two national champions.
Nebraska took care of business against Michigan State in its Big Ten home opener. The Cornhuskers are 5-3 against the college basketball spread as a home favorite while Indiana covered in its only other game as a road underdog. Don’t be surprised to see the Hoosiers cover yet again in this matchup.
Indiana has another tough test when an 11-2 Ohio State team comes to town on Saturday.
- Illini (11-2 SU, 7-4-2 ATS) vs Boilermakers (13-1 SU, 9-3-2 ATS)
- Date/Time: Friday, January 5, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Illini vs Boilermakers Live Stream: TBS.com
The game of the week in the Big Ten and one of the top showdowns in the country features Top-10 teams coming off impressive wins.
No. 9 Illinois played its second game without leading scorer Terrance Shannon Jr.,who has been suspended after his arrest on rape charges.
Senior Marcus Domask had 32 points while Justin Harmon had 20 points off the bench in the 96-66 win over Northwestern. Illinois was listed by the college basketball odds as a 5½-point favorite.
Purdue had not fared well in recent trips to Maryland but that didn’t stop the top-ranked Boilermakers from being 6½-point favorites going into Tuesday’s game.
The Boilermakers led by 13 points at halftime en route to snapping Maryland’s 19-game home winning streak. Edey led the way with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
#Purdue vs. Maryland player ratings: Another Zach Edey double-double, Braden Smith stuffs stat sheethttps://t.co/cvCgbOhpje
— IndyStar (@indystar) January 3, 2024
Purdue has won each of the last three games against Illinois with each game landing over the Las Vegas college basketball odds total.
These are two of the Big Ten teams with the best records against the spread. Purdue is 4-2-1 against the spread as a home favorite while Illinois is 1-0-1 when listed as the road underdog.
- Cornhuskers (11-2 SU, 8-5 ATS) vs Badgers (10-3 SU, 7-6 ATS)
- Date/Time: Sunday, January 6, 8 p.m. ET
- Cornhuskers vs Badgers Live Stream: TBS.com
Yet another challenging matchup for Nebraska with a game against No. 1 Purdue also on the horizon. Those who bet online should have a better idea soon if this Cornhusker team is a contender or a pretender.
Wisconsin had won seven games in a row against Nebraska before the Cornhuskers won the last two.
The last time Nebraska played at Wisconsin, the Huskers held Wisconsin without a field goal for the final 5:48 to win 74-73 as 12½-point underdogs in a game that prevented the Badgers from securing the Big Ten regular-season title outright. It was Nebraska’s first road win in the series since 2018.
Nebraska has covered in 10 of its last 13 games against Wisconsin.
The Badgers are 6-0 outright as a home favorite but 3-3 ATS in those matchups while Nebraska won its only game as a road underdog.
Questions Of The Day
Which college basketball teams this week are most likely to exceed expectations?
Keep an eye on Indiana with the Hoosiers the underdog against a Nebraska team that they have dominated in recent years.
What are the top 3 players to place a bet in the Big Ten this week?
It is never a bad idea to roll with Purdue’s Zach Edey in the player props. Wisconsin’s Steven Crowl has seven straight double-digit scoring games while Michigan State’s Tyson Walker is averaging 20 points per game.
