Are you sure you want your favorite team to win the Big Ten tournament?
Illinois did in 2021 and claimed a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, then lost in the second round to Loyola. Purdue did in 2023 before becoming only the second No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the Big Dance. In between, Iowa won the Big Ten event in 2022 — a total tease, it turned out, as the Hawkeyes face-planted against 12th-seeded Richmond in their NCAA opener.
But whom are we kidding? Of course you want your team to win it. We’re all competitors here, after all, even those of us who get gassed digging between sofa cushions for a loose cheddar doodle. Seven schools — Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers — will be trying to win it for the first time.
Big Ten tournament No. 26 begins Wednesday in Minneapolis. A team-by-team glimpse of what’s ahead:
1. PURDUE (28-3, 17-3)
Next up: Michigan State-Minnesota winner, 11 a.m. Friday, BTN.
Title odds: +100 on DraftKings.
Snip? Why wouldn’t the Boilermakers cut down the nets at Target Center? They’re the first team since Indiana in 1975 and 1976 to top the regular-season standings by at least three games in back-to-back years.
Or slip? All three losses —to Northwestern, Nebraska and Ohio State — happened away from Mackey Arena. Of greater concern is all-league point guard Braden Smith’s sore right ankle.
2. ILLINOIS (23-8, 14-6)
Next up: Iowa-Ohio State winner, 5:30 p.m. Friday, BTN.
Title odds: +300.
Snip? Terrence Shannon Jr. was suspended for the first loss to Purdue and scored only 11 in the second, but he has pumped in 23 or more in six straight games away from home. With a third crack at the Boilers, he might make all the difference.
Or slip? The Illini are coming off their best defensive performance at Iowa, but it was an anomaly. Will “D” stand for “downfall”?
3. NEBRASKA (22-9, 12-8)
Next up: TBD, approximately 8 p.m. Friday, BTN.
Title odds: +700.
Snip? The Huskers make the most threes in the league. If Kisei Tominaga, Brice Williams, C.J. Wilcher and Rienk Mast get hot, a team that’s 5-1 in its last six games can keep it rolling.
Or slip? It’s still Nebraska. This team can lose to anybody, anywhere, at any time.
4. NORTHWESTERN (21-10, 12-8)
Next up: TBD, approximately 1:30 p.m. Friday, BTN.
Title odds: +1600.
Snip? The Wildcats have played potential semifinal foe Purdue as well as any Big Ten team has the last couple of years, and they have the league’s best closer in Boo Buie. A chance? Sure.
Or slip? Three games in three days is so far from ideal for a roster as thin as this one, it’s not even funny.
5. WISCONSIN (19-12, 11-9)
Next up: Maryland-Rutgers winner, approximately 1:30 p.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +1500.
Snip? The Badgers should pretend it’s January, which they finished with a record of 16-4 (8-1 Big Ten) and ranked No. 6 in all the land. Or just give the ball to AJ Storr and let him cook.
Or slip? It ain’t January, and college basketball has not had a more disappointing team since then.
6. INDIANA (18-13, 10-10)
Next up: Penn State-Michigan winner, approximately 8 p.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +8000.
Snip? You think that Zach Edey guy is good? Hoosiers 7-footer Kel’El Ware has totaled 90 points, 49 rebounds and 12 blocks during this suddenly dangerous squad’s four-game winning streak.
Or slip? The Hoosiers shoot the fewest threes in the league and convert them at the third-lowest percentage. In tournament play, that’s a scary deficiency to have.
7. IOWA (18-13, 10-10)
Next up: Ohio State, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +3500.
Snip? The on-the-bubble Hawkeyes have some quality wins lately — Wisconsin, Michigan State, Northwestern — and go in desperate. It might be time to give Caitlin Clark a haircut and sneak her into uniform.
Or slip? The Hawkeyes needed a home “W” in the regular-season finale against Illinois. Instead, they stunk up the joint, getting outrebounded 50-33. Not a good sign.
8. MICHIGAN STATE (18-13, 10-10)
Next up: Minnesota, 11 a.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +1000.
Snip? During a dazzling stretch last weekend when the Spartans went from 15 down to seven ahead at Indiana, they looked like the contender most expected them to be. It was fleeting — they still lost — but we’re reaching here.
Or slip? “January, February, Izzo” — oh, please. It’s time to retire that saying.
9. MINNESOTA (18-13, 9-11)
Next up: Michigan State, 11 a.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +10000.
Snip? The Gophers have had five different leading scorers in their last five games. If both Cam Christie and Mike Mitchell Jr. come out hot from deep, look out.
Or slip? The Gophs are 1-4 in their last five. You can’t spell “Minnesota” without an “N” (OK, two of ’em), an “I” and a “T.”
10. OHIO STATE (19-12, 9-11)
Next up: Iowa, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +3500.
Snip? The Buckeyes have won four in a row, and it hasn’t been a mirage. Interim coach Jake Diebler for president!
Or slip? That’s an awfully tough road through Iowa and Illinois just to get to the semifinals.
11. PENN STATE (15-16, 9-11)
Next up: Michigan, approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday, Peacock.
Title odds: +15000.
Snip? The Nittany Lions are one of the best teams in the country at defending the three. It’s not much to hang their hats on, but it’s something to watch.
Or slip? Last year’s squad made it all the way to Sunday, but those boys could shoot it. This squad: Nope.
12. MARYLAND (15-16, 7-13)
Next up: Rutgers, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Peacock.
Title odds: +6000.
Snip? Jahmir Young will take that rock and back down from no one.
Or slip? The Terrapins can’t hit the broad side of a turtle shell, a fatal flaw.
13. RUTGERS (15-16, 7-13)
Next up: Maryland, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Peacock.
Title odds: +20000.
Snip? In theory, the Scarlet Knights are a bit more dangerous with Jeremiah Williams — who has 11 games under his belt — than they were without him.
Or slip? It’s all too reminiscent of Steve Pikiell’s bad teams from his first few years on the job.
14. MICHIGAN (8-21, 2-17)
Next up: Penn State, approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday, Peacock.
Title odds: +35000.
Snip? The other two times the Big Ten tournament was somewhere other than Chicago or Indianapolis, Michigan won it.
Or slip? But seriously, folks.
