I might get some hate for this, but outside of the Michigan Wolverines, I would not be shocked if the Big Ten Conference doesn’t get a single team into the Sweet 16. As of late, the preseason favorite, the Purdue Boilermakers, has really struggled, and I don’t think this is the time when they suddenly stop slumping. Since the COVID pandemic, Matt Painter is just 1-10 against the spread in the Big Ten Tournament, which is hard to ignore.

My dark horse for the tournament is the UCLA Bruins at +5000 on FanDuel. I actually like their draw a lot. They should be able to beat the winner of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Minnesota Golden Gophers, and then would likely see the Michigan State Spartans, whom they’ve graded slightly worse than since February. After that, it could be the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who I think are a bit fraudulent, and, analytically, UCLA has been the better team lately. In the championship, they’d probably have to go through one of the Michigan Wolverines, Illinois Fighting Illini, or Wisconsin Badgers.

Pick: Michigan -105 (FanDuel)

The Wolverines are a force right now, and I don’t think anyone in the conference matches up with them. To beat Michigan, you need strong defense, the ability to move them off the ball, bigs who can stretch the floor, and you have to limit them on the offensive glass. Unfortunately, the Big Ten just doesn’t have many teams built like that this year.

Check out this ticket we have on our site that needs the Michigan Wolverines to reach the Final Four.

Players to watch in this tournament include Bruce Thornton (Ohio State), Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan), Keaton Wagner (Illinois), Braden Smith (Purdue), Jeremy Fears Jr. (Michigan State), John Blackwell (Wisconsin), Lamar Wilkerson (Indiana), and Bennet Stirtz (Indiana).

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