Docs Website

53 Years Strong! A Trusted Leader In Sports Picks, Best Bets and Predictions Since 1971.

Main Menu

2024 Big Ten Tournament Predictions with Betting Odds and Picks

by Robert Ferringo - 3/13/2024

Big Ten Tournament predictions Boo Buie Northwestern Wildcats

We are just over a week away from one of my favorite events of the year.

We will call this one, “Laugh Your Ass Off As The Big Ten Embarrasses Itself In The NCAA Tournament”.

It happens every season. The Big Ten usually sends way more teams to The Big Dance than it deserves. And then we get to watch the utter hilarity of those teams throwing up on themselves in front of the entire country in the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament.

However, this is a down year for the league. They have sent at least eight teams to the last four NCAA Tournaments. But I would be absolutely stunned to see more than five get a ticket to The Dance next week. Which raises the stakes considerably for this week’s conference tournament, with a potential automatic bid dangling out there for someone to steal.

Doc’s Sports offers college basketball expert picks for every game on our NCAA basketball predictions page.

The Big Ten Tournament will take place at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It begins Wednesday, March 13, and ends on Sunday. Here is Doc’s Sports 2024 Big Ten Tournament preview and predictions:

The Favorite: Purdue (+100)

The defending champions of this tournament, Purdue is the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year. The Boilermakers claimed their league-best 26th Big Ten regular season championship and their 28 regular season wins are the most school history. The 17 conference wins are third most in league history. So it’s been a banner year for the Boilermakers. However, after last season’s humiliation – they became just the second No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 – this team knows that it will be judged by what they do in March. If you don’t know about big man Zach Edey, you shouldn’t be betting on college basketball. But this team’s March memories are going to come down to how its guards perform, particularly Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer.

The Contender: Illinois (+285)

The Illini lost both of their tilts with Purdue – barely. They fell by five points on the road and lost a 77-71 battle on March 5. They would love nothing more than to get a third crack at the champs. Terrence Shannon, Marcus Domask, Coleman Hawkins and Quincy Guerrier are all seniors, with three of them in their fifth season. They are also all studs. This team has been as hot offensively as any team in the nation, averaging 87.3 points per game over their last 10. But, shockingly, a Brad Underwood team has some issues on the defensive end. They will need to clean those up if they want to make a run.

The Dark Horse: Nebraska (+900)

Fred Hoiberg should be going back to The Big Dance next week. And if so, he’ll be taking Nebraska back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade. Hoiberg has a fun team, starting with lead guard Keisei Tominaga. They have four guys averaging 12 points or more, they shoot a ton of threes, and they have an excellent glue guy in Josiah Allick. The problem with this squad, though, is that they have won only four games outside of Lincoln all season. They won’t have their strong home court edge to lean on, and that could lead to a short stay in Minny.

The Spoiler: Wisconsin (+1400)

The Badgers have been an absolute train wreck over the past month-plus, going just 3-8 in their last 11 games. Are they playing their way into the NIT? Maybe. And if they lose to the Rutgers-Maryland winner (and neither of those teams will be a pushover), then the Badgers will be in major trouble. That is exactly what happened last year when they lost to Ohio State in their first game and turned an 11-2 start into an NIT bid. That said, the Badgers started the season 16-4, with eight wins over Top 70 teams. They have talent, experience, and they can score inside and out. And with the opportunity to bounce Northwestern and Purdue in the top of the bracket, this team could be a major player in this tournament.

Bubble Team To Watch: Northwestern (+2800)

The Wildcats have very quietly put themselves in position to make next week’s Big Dance. They are the only team in the league to beat both Purdue and Illinois (albeit at home and in overtime in both games). They also have arguably the best guard in the league, Boo Buie. This team lost Buie’s senior backcourt mate, Ty Berry, last month but has still been solid, going 5-3 without him. Northwestern is going to have a tough matchup in its quarterfinal game. A loss could flush them into the NIT. A win should punch their ticket. This is a squad that a lot of other bubble teams will be keeping an eye on.

Early Round Matchups To Watch:

No. 7 Iowa (+3) vs. No. 10 Ohio State (6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 14)

Iowa is making a late charge onto the NCAA Tournament bubble. They would likely need to win this game and then upset Illinois to be taken seriously. The Hawkeyes have won five of eight, and they are one of the best offensive teams in the country, coming in No. 14 in scoring at 83.1 points per game. They play next to no defense, though, and Ohio State is going to have to put the ball in the hole – something they’ve struggled with all season – if they want to advance. Interim head coach Jake Diebler has performed admirably since Chris Holtman’s in-season firing. Ohio State has won four straight and six of eight, including an upset of Purdue. This Ohio State team also knocked off Alabama on a neutral site back in November, so there is some talent here. They have a talented sophomore class, and seniors Jamison Battle and Zed Key are not going to let their careers end easily.

2024 Big Ten Conference Tournament Predictions: I’m expecting several upsets and for one of the lower seeds to make a little run. The ‘top’ teams in this bracket – Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin, specifically – are all soft favorites. But all of that is just background noise. This tournament is Purdue’s to win or lose. They are clearly the best team, and they really have an easy draw to the finals. Illinois is the only team that can go talent-for-talent with the Boilermakers. But they have played in the Big Ten championship game only one time since 2006. I think Edey gets some more hardware.

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 12 of 15 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.

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

 

Most Recent March Madness Betting

One E-mail A Week Is All You Need!
Our weekly newsletter is loaded with exclusive free picks,insight and advice from our expert handicappers