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2025 Big Ten Tournament Predictions and Betting Odds

by Robert Ferringo - 3/12/2025

Big Ten Tournament predictions Jase Richardson Michigan State Spartans

It’s March. Which means it is time for the Big Ten’s annual NCAA Tournament humiliation.

However, before we get to that, the conference should be able to give us one of the most entertaining and unpredictable conference tournaments of Championship Week.

The Big Ten Tournament is always a glorious clutter of confusion and chaos. The No. 1 seed has won this tournament only three times in the last 11 years, and three of the last seven champions have entered the tournament seeded No. 5 or worse. It’s truly a free-for-all, and that usually makes for an entertaining mess.

The Big Ten Tournament will take place at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It begins Wednesday, March 12 and ends on Sunday. Here is Doc’s Sports 2025 Big Ten Conference preview and predictions:

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The Favorite: Michigan State (+250)

Tom Izzo is known as a maestro of March. And he’s bringing a Spartans team that is smoking hot, winners of seven straight, with six of those victories coming against Top 30 opponents. It starts on the defensive end for the Spartans, who are No. 3 in defending the 3-point shot and No. 18 in field goal defense. Michigan State averages 78.5 points per game this year despite being one of the worst shooting teams in the country, making just 30.2 percent of their 3-pointers (No. 344). The Spartans have just two players, Jaden Akins and Jase Richardson, averaging more than 9.1 points per game. But this is a deep team (10 guys averaged 14 minutes or more) and they generate a lot of offense from turnovers.

The Contender: Maryland (+350)

The Terps were a surprise No. 2 in league play, overcoming a 3-4 league start with an 11-2 finish to vault up the standings. Maryland has been a tough team to beat this year, with their seven losses this season all coming by six points or fewer and an average of just 3.9 points per game. Freshman Derik Queen will be a one-and-done lottery pick and averages 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Queen may be the kingpin, but Maryland has five guys averaging 12 or more points per game. In fact, they are in the bottom 50 in the country in bench minutes, and their lack of depth could become a problem for a group that has just one guy taller than 6-foot-9.

The Dark Horse: UCLA (+650)

In mid-January, the Bruins were in the midst of a four-game losing streak that sunk them to 11-6 on the year and 2-4 in conference play. Head coach Mick Cronin basically called his entire team a bunch of soft losers, and that sparked a big-time turnaround. The talented Bruins closed the season on an 11-3 march and could do some serious damage in their first year in this tournament. UCLA has talent. What they don’t have is much size, getting just 13 minutes per game out of 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara. The Bruins are a different team when Mara plays significant minutes, going 10-0 when he gets 16 or more and 6-0 (with wins over Michigan State and Wisconsin) when he plays at least half of the game.

The Spoiler: Wisconsin (+1400)

The Badgers blew a shot at the No. 4 seed (and a valuable double-bye) by losing at home as a double-digit favorite to Penn State in the season finale. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Badgers should get back guard Max Klesmit after a three-game injury absence. Jon Tonje and Josh Blackwell are Wisconsin’s leading scorers, combining to average 34.5 points per game. But Klesmit and center Steve Crowl are equally valuable because of their savvy and intangibles. The Badgers have an explosive offense and would love to avenge last year’s loss in the tournament title game. But they haven’t been great playing outside of Madison this year and have won the tournament only twice in the last 20 years.

Bubble Team To Watch: Indiana (+2800)

The Hoosiers are really one of the only true “bubble” teams in the Big Ten Tournament, meaning they are the only team (maybe Ohio State) that is currently out of the projected field that has a chance to play their way into the field with a few wins. And they really are positioned for maximum damage, with high-profile games against Oregon on Thursday and then a potential date with top-seeded Michigan State. If the Hoosiers can pull off those two upsets, they have a chance to steal a bid. And the only way that’s going to happen is if someone – anyone – can hit some outside shots for one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league.

Early Round Matchups To Watch:

No. 11 Rutgers vs. No. 14 USC (9 p.m., Wednesday, March 12)

This game, which features two teams that are both 15-16 this year, won’t have any national significance. But it should still be a fun watch because of the talent on the court. Rutgers freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are the real deal and future pros. USC freshman Wesley Yates and junior Desmond Claude combine for nearly 30 points per game. And the last time these two teams met, it was a 95-85 barn burner.

No. 8 Oregon (+3) vs. No. 9 Indiana (Noon, Thursday, March 13)

As I mentioned before, Indiana needs this one. Oregon has won seven straight to solidify their spot in The Big Dance, and they are bringing a ton of momentum to Indy. However, they also lost five straight right before this winning streak, so the Ducks can be a bit of a mixed bag. Oregon recently beat Indiana, 73-64, in a game that featured some questionable officiating. There is a lot to play for in this one, and there should be plenty of intensity to tip off Thursday’s action.

2024 Big Ten Conference Tournament Predictions: Your guess is as good as mine in this league. Truly. There are seven different teams that I think have a realistic chance of cutting down the nets in Indianapolis. If you gave me the top three seeds – Michigan State, Maryland and Michigan – versus the next three seeds – UCLA, Wisconsin and Purdue – I would be inclined to take the 4-5-6 as more likely to cut down the nets. Look for the Wisconsin-UCLA winner to advance to the finals.

Robert Ferringo is a member of the Basketball Writer's Association of America and a professional sports handicapper for Doc's Sports. He is considered one of the best college basketball handicappers in the country and has posted 13 of 16 winning seasons. He is looking for a monster March run and you can sign up for his college basketball picks and get more information here.

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