The top three teams in the Big Ten stumbled down the stretch and it appeared for a while that nobody wanted the regular season title. Purdue and Michigan State finished as co-champs with the Spartans earning the No. 1 seed. And they did it even after losing Joshua Langford in January and playing the last month without second-leading scorer Nick Ward, who is expected to return for the tournament. That’s a big boost for the Spartans, who came off as the favorite to win the conference tournament ahead of Michigan and Purdue.
Big Ten Tournament
Dates: Wednesday, March 13 – Sunday, March 17, 2019
Location: United Center, Chicago, IL
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Big Ten Tournament TV Coverage: BTN, CBS
While all the Big Ten talk surrounds Michigan, MSU and Purdue, don’t sleep on the Wisconsin Badgers, who won their final three regular season games to slip past Maryland for the coveted fourth seed. Bucky earned a double-bye into the quarterfinal round with its late season charge and Ethan Happ might be the most dangerous players in the conference.
Realistically, though, this is a three-team conference with the trio ahead of everyone else in the standings and on the odds board. Sparty gets the nod as the favorite with a late season sweep of rival Michigan. MSU also split with Purdue during the regular season. They survived down the stretch after Ward was lost with a hand injury, already getting past the absence of Langford.
Tom Izzo said Ward is ready to play once the tournament kicks off, and the Spartans are ecstatic about their chances not only in the Big Ten Tournament, but also in the NCAA Tournament. Cassius Winston was a monster in critical games toward the end of the year and Sparty got some help from Xavier Tillman in Ward’s absence, only adding to their depth.
Odds to Win 2019 Big Ten Tournament at BookMaker.eu
Michigan State +167
Michigan +227
Purdue +233
Wisconsin +738
Maryland +1,495
Indiana +4,200
Iowa +5,500
Penn State +6,116
Nebraska +8,000
Minnesota +8,500
Ohio State +9,000
Illinois +20,000
Northwestern +20,000
Rutgers +25,000
Player to Watch
There are several big time hoop artists in the conference, but the hopes of the Badgers are pinned squarely on the shoulders of Happ. He does a little of everything on the floor as all well as being a strong leader in the locker room. Happ averaged 17.9 points during the season while hauling down 10.2 rebounds and dishing out 4.6 assists. He’s the only player to rank among the top-five in those categories on the Big Ten stat sheet.
Happ would likely get more recognition as national player of the year if he could shoot free throws with better accuracy. In addition to his points, rebounds and assists, Happ is a stellar defender with 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. His only flaw is from the stripe where he connected on just 46 percent during the season.
That becomes an issue for Greg Gard late in games. He doesn’t want to take his best player out of the game, but he’s forced to because of the poor percentage. And that will be costly in a tight ball game, which is most certainly going to happen.
Big Ten Tournament Free Picks
It’s hard to go against Michigan and John Beilein in this setting. The Wolverines have a potent starting five and the top freshman in the Big Ten in Ignas Brazedikis, who averaged 15 points per outing. They are expecting to have Charles Matthews back as well, which helps the team’s depth issue. Matthews was injured in the first loss to MSU and didn’t play the rest of the regular season. UM isn’t deep and the rotations suffered in his absence.
With a chance to secure the regular season crown, Purdue laid an egg against Minnesota. That loss will either motivate the Boilers or it will just add to their conference tournament misery. Purdue hasn’t won the title since 2009. Michigan State swept UM over the last two weeks of the season and they did so shorthanded. Ward’s return gives them additional scoring punch and a defensive stopper in the middle, and that makes Sparty my tournament pick.
Big Ten Tournament Pick: Michigan State Spartans
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