With the Big Ten playing a more prominent role in college basketball betting this season than in other recent years, it feels like this football-crazy conference has turned over a new leaf. All eyes will be on No. 1 Ohio State. Can it avenge defeats to Wisconsin and Purdue? Let’s handicap the Big Ten Tournament.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (29-2)
Sportsbook odds: -150
The Buckeyes are the top-ranked team in all of college basketball, so it’s no surprise to see them listed as the betting favorite to win the Big Ten tourney. Some people will dispute the rank and call for Kansas to get the top spot. After all, two other contenders in this tourney, Purdue and Wisconsin, beat Ohio State. But the Buckeyes look like the real deal. They responded well after their second defeat, winning four straight times by 19 or more points. They’re also a national top-20 team in both scoring offense and defense.
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (25-6)
Sportsbook odds: +300
Remember Robbie Hummel? Apparently Purdue doesn’t. It’s not often that a team overcomes a season-ending injury to one of its starters only to play mostly dominant basketball but Purdue has done just that this season. The Boilermakers enter the tourney having won seven of eight. JaJuan Johnson is having a dream season, averaging 20.6 points per game. Purdue is a legitimate threat to the Buckeyes, having beaten them by 13 points on February 20.
WISCONSIN BADGERS (23-7)
Sportsbook odds: +350
As “that other team that beat Ohio State,” Wisconsin falls right behind Purdue. The Badgers are an intriguing sleeper. Not only do they have a one-two punch as good as any Big Ten team’s in Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor, they’re also one of the country’s most outstanding defensive teams. Keep a close eye on the Badgers.
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (19-12)
Sportsbook odds: +800
Michigan is the quintessential mid-range contender in this tournament. The Wolverines are kinda, sorta good everywhere. They don’t score a ton but they play pretty good defense, they have some pretty good scorers in Darius Morris and Tim Hardaway Jr., they enter the tournament pretty hot with six wins in eight games…you get the picture. Michigan could reach, say, the semifinals but this is a low-upside pick.
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (17-13)
Sportsbook odds: +800
Picking Michigan State to win the Big Ten Tournament is like picking Tiger Woods to win a golf tournament: don’t let the name fool you. I know Tom Izzo is still the coach and I know Kalin Lucas is good but this team just doesn’t have what it was supposed to have this year. The Spartans haven’t reached the Big Ten title game since 2000.
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (19-2)
Sportsbook odds: +1000
Fun fact: Illinois has the best all-time record of any team in the Big Ten Tournament at 23-11. But don’t let that fool you into picking the Fighting Illini to win it this year. These guys are solid and a good shooting team at .469 for the season but their 9-9 record in conference play this season tells you all you need to know.
THE PICK
I’m so tempted to pick Wisconsin. Love the defense, love their scoring tandem, a win over Ohio State already…but I can’t veer off the path. Ohio State made a statement when it crushed Wisconsin 93-65 in the rematch a few days ago. The Buckeyes are ready to win their fourth Big Ten tourney.
Today’s free pick: Ohio State-150
OffshoreInsiders.com handicappers a combined 6-0 Wednesday afternoon.
Bulls vs. Hornets NBA Lines, Picks, Gamblers Breakdown
OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Writer Vegas Matty previews Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets from the standpoint of the sports gambler.
One of the best scores and odds games has the Chicago Bulls (44-18) bring a three-game winning streak to Charlotte on Wednesday in hopes of evening the season series with the Bobcats (26-37) at two games apiece. Charlotte won the first two meetings with Chicago by a combined six points before the Bulls pulled off a 106-94 victory in the last game between the teams on February 15.
The Bobcats have since traded Gerald Wallace to Portland and lost leading scorer Stephen Jackson to a hamstring injury, winning just once in six games. They are currently riding a five-game losing streak, going 1-4 against the spread after falling at home 92-87 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. A lack of scoring has obviously been the major concern, as the team is averaging only 81.2 points per game during the skid with the UNDER cashing each time.
That pattern is not likely to change here against a Chicago team that has tightened the screws defensively since losing 118-113 at Toronto in the first game after the All-Star break. The Bulls have not allowed an opponent to score 90 points in the last seven games, giving up an average of 81.1 points during that stretch en route to a 6-1 record with the UNDER going 7-0.
While Chicago has risen to the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race thanks in part to the struggles of the Miami Heat, the team still needs to prove itself by consistently winning on the road. The Bulls were finally able to get over the .500 mark away from home on their most recent road trip, going 4-1 both straight-up and ATS. They need just one more road victory to surpass last year’s total.
Chicago point guard Derrick Rose continues to play at an MVP level despite a hiccup here or there, scoring 21 points or more in four of the last five games. However, Rose struggled in an 83-80 loss at Atlanta on March 2, which was the lone setback during the road trip. He made just 5 of 21 shots from the field against the Hawks, totaling 12 points, 12 assists and six turnovers. Rose owns career averages of 19.9 points and 6.6 assists in 10 career games against Charlotte.
The Bobcats are 2-4 ATS in the last six meetings with the Bulls even though they won three of those games. The UNDER was 3-1 in the previous four games between them before Chicago’s most recent win in the series.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (29-2)
Sportsbook odds: -150
The Buckeyes are the top-ranked team in all of college basketball, so it’s no surprise to see them listed as the betting favorite to win the Big Ten tourney. Some people will dispute the rank and call for Kansas to get the top spot. After all, two other contenders in this tourney, Purdue and Wisconsin, beat Ohio State. But the Buckeyes look like the real deal. They responded well after their second defeat, winning four straight times by 19 or more points. They’re also a national top-20 team in both scoring offense and defense.
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (25-6)
Sportsbook odds: +300
Remember Robbie Hummel? Apparently Purdue doesn’t. It’s not often that a team overcomes a season-ending injury to one of its starters only to play mostly dominant basketball but Purdue has done just that this season. The Boilermakers enter the tourney having won seven of eight. JaJuan Johnson is having a dream season, averaging 20.6 points per game. Purdue is a legitimate threat to the Buckeyes, having beaten them by 13 points on February 20.
WISCONSIN BADGERS (23-7)
Sportsbook odds: +350
As “that other team that beat Ohio State,” Wisconsin falls right behind Purdue. The Badgers are an intriguing sleeper. Not only do they have a one-two punch as good as any Big Ten team’s in Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor, they’re also one of the country’s most outstanding defensive teams. Keep a close eye on the Badgers.
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (19-12)
Sportsbook odds: +800
Michigan is the quintessential mid-range contender in this tournament. The Wolverines are kinda, sorta good everywhere. They don’t score a ton but they play pretty good defense, they have some pretty good scorers in Darius Morris and Tim Hardaway Jr., they enter the tournament pretty hot with six wins in eight games…you get the picture. Michigan could reach, say, the semifinals but this is a low-upside pick.
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (17-13)
Sportsbook odds: +800
Picking Michigan State to win the Big Ten Tournament is like picking Tiger Woods to win a golf tournament: don’t let the name fool you. I know Tom Izzo is still the coach and I know Kalin Lucas is good but this team just doesn’t have what it was supposed to have this year. The Spartans haven’t reached the Big Ten title game since 2000.
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (19-2)
Sportsbook odds: +1000
Fun fact: Illinois has the best all-time record of any team in the Big Ten Tournament at 23-11. But don’t let that fool you into picking the Fighting Illini to win it this year. These guys are solid and a good shooting team at .469 for the season but their 9-9 record in conference play this season tells you all you need to know.
THE PICK
I’m so tempted to pick Wisconsin. Love the defense, love their scoring tandem, a win over Ohio State already…but I can’t veer off the path. Ohio State made a statement when it crushed Wisconsin 93-65 in the rematch a few days ago. The Buckeyes are ready to win their fourth Big Ten tourney.
Today’s free pick: Ohio State-150
OffshoreInsiders.com handicappers a combined 6-0 Wednesday afternoon.
Bulls vs. Hornets NBA Lines, Picks, Gamblers Breakdown
OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Writer Vegas Matty previews Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets from the standpoint of the sports gambler.
One of the best scores and odds games has the Chicago Bulls (44-18) bring a three-game winning streak to Charlotte on Wednesday in hopes of evening the season series with the Bobcats (26-37) at two games apiece. Charlotte won the first two meetings with Chicago by a combined six points before the Bulls pulled off a 106-94 victory in the last game between the teams on February 15.
The Bobcats have since traded Gerald Wallace to Portland and lost leading scorer Stephen Jackson to a hamstring injury, winning just once in six games. They are currently riding a five-game losing streak, going 1-4 against the spread after falling at home 92-87 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. A lack of scoring has obviously been the major concern, as the team is averaging only 81.2 points per game during the skid with the UNDER cashing each time.
That pattern is not likely to change here against a Chicago team that has tightened the screws defensively since losing 118-113 at Toronto in the first game after the All-Star break. The Bulls have not allowed an opponent to score 90 points in the last seven games, giving up an average of 81.1 points during that stretch en route to a 6-1 record with the UNDER going 7-0.
While Chicago has risen to the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race thanks in part to the struggles of the Miami Heat, the team still needs to prove itself by consistently winning on the road. The Bulls were finally able to get over the .500 mark away from home on their most recent road trip, going 4-1 both straight-up and ATS. They need just one more road victory to surpass last year’s total.
Chicago point guard Derrick Rose continues to play at an MVP level despite a hiccup here or there, scoring 21 points or more in four of the last five games. However, Rose struggled in an 83-80 loss at Atlanta on March 2, which was the lone setback during the road trip. He made just 5 of 21 shots from the field against the Hawks, totaling 12 points, 12 assists and six turnovers. Rose owns career averages of 19.9 points and 6.6 assists in 10 career games against Charlotte.
The Bobcats are 2-4 ATS in the last six meetings with the Bulls even though they won three of those games. The UNDER was 3-1 in the previous four games between them before Chicago’s most recent win in the series.
