Who is your winner?
The staff roundtable is back. This week I asked: The field for the BTT is set, give your guess of winner and if it’s not Purdue, how far does Purdue go?
Jed:
The last several weeks left a lot to be desired from the Boilermakers but they seemed to return back to a bit of normalcy in their final three games, even if they did lose on the road to Illinois (who may have played their best game of the season). It is quite disappointing to have two first team B1G players with an argument to be made that they are the two best in the conference and finish 6th (although I understand the argument of why it is really 4th). The Boilers are either going to play USC for a second time or Rutgers for a third time, and even though they won those three total matchups by an average of 21.7 points, beating a team for a second or third time in the B1G Tourney is always difficult. Inevitably, I think the Boilers will win that Thursday matchup and the one Friday against the Michigan Wolverines but will lose their Saturday semi-final matchup against the Maryland Terrapins.
Ultimately, I think Maryland ends up winning the conference tourney as the players around Derik Queen have really stepped up throughout the B1G season. It’ll likely come down to the growth of Rodney Rice and if Maryland can get some help from their bench. If they can, Maryland is definitely a dark horse type team to make a run in the NCAA Tourney as their starting five matches up as well with anyone in the country.
Chase:
If I were making a straight up pick, I would likely take Michigan State. Izzo’s experience in the Big Ten tournament along with a team in stride would likely be too much for anyone else to overcome.
However, from a betting market perspective I really like Michigan. You can get a futures bet on the Wolverines around +1200 right now, while no other team with a double bye is longer than +650. It’s a fantastic line, likely because everyone has shut down on the wolverines after some recent struggles. It’s easy to forget that a week and a half ago, they were talking about being big ten champs on social media. They’ve shown an ability to win close games consistently, which is crucial to tournament runs as well. If they win just one game, you’ll be able to cash out a futures bet on them at significant profit.
All that being said, the Boilers are taking this thing in Indy. Period.
Kyle:
I am going full homer and saying the Boilers. I like the path to the title game. Michigan would be our second game and they have struggled down the stretch.
Then another game against Maryland, who has improved mightily, but I am not sure they have an answer for either Smith or Renn.
I see Purdue vs Sparty in the B1G title game and Purdue getting the best of them in 2nd matchup.
Ryan:
Wednesday
NW vs MINN – MINN
IOWA vs OSU – IOWA
USC vs RUTG – RUTG
Thursday
IU vs Oregon – IU
MINN vs WISC – WISC
IOWA vs ILL – ILL
RUTG vs PUR – PUR
Hard to beat a team 3 times in one season but a faux home crowd in Gainbridge goes a long way and Purdue should be able to limit everyone outside of Harper and Bailey
Friday
IU vs MSU – MSU
WISC vs UCLA – WISC
ILL vs MD – ILL
PUR vs MICH – PUR
Purdue beat Michigan by 27 at home and lost at Michigan by 2. By the law of averages, a truly neutral court lets Purdue win by 12.5, right? And again, Gainbridge Fieldhouse favors Purdue more than Michigan.
Saturday
MSU vs WISC – WISC
ILL vs PUR – PUR
Purdue swings back at Illinois for making them play on a Thursday for the first time in BTT history.
Sunday
WISC vs PUR – PUR
I really enjoy Purdue’s path here and the winner of this game may get a higher seed in the tournament and snag a coveted Milwaukee location in the first 2 rounds. John Tonje doesn’t go nuclear this time and Purdue barely pulls it out.
Ledman:
I think Purdue wins two games before ultimately falling to Maryland. I think Purdue was very lucky to have played Maryland when they did and that a second matchup might not work out in the Boilermakers favor.
The odds on favorite has to be the Spartans and I think they might have a little something extra to prove after not getting a single first or second team player on the all-conference teams.