NCAA Basketball Preview - Big Ten Breakdown

NCAAB Preview: Michigan State Will Make a Final Four Run, but Will They Win the Big Ten?

The Michigan State Spartans, led by Coach Tom Izzo, no doubt will make another run to the Final Four, but are they a legitimate shot to win the Big Ten Conference?

By legitimate, I mean whether or not the Spartans are worth a bet at their current odds in the NCAAB sports book, +175. Those are awfully low odds on a team in a conference loaded with good players and good coaches.

Let’s take a look at the Big Ten Conference.

Big Ten Conference

1. Purdue Boilermakers +200 - - Michigan State is loaded, no doubt, but the Boilermakers have the probable Big Ten player of the year in junior forward Robbie Hummel. Hummel averaged 12.5 points and 7 rebounds per game last season. He could approach a 20 and 10 average in the 2009-2010 NCAAB Season that means that he could dominate his Big Ten peers on the court. Expect senior guard Chris Kramer to come up big this season. The Boilermakers are going off at higher odds than the Spartans. Because the two teams are somewhat even in my book, I’ll be betting on the Boilermakers to win the Big Ten Conference.


2. Michigan State Spartans +175 - - Michigan State is, like most seasons, ready to make a splash in college basketball. The Spartans lost to North Carolina in the 2008-2009 NCAAB Championship game 89 to 72 and have enough pieces to get right back into that game. They may have a tough time winning the Big Ten, but make no mistake, once tournament time rolls around, the Spartans are going to be ready to make a run. It all starts with guard Kalin Lucas who won the Big Ten player of the year award last season. Lucas is an awesome floor general that can change a game with his presence. The Spartans will be tough this season.


3. Ohio State Buckeyes +500 - - Ohio State is going to win a lot, I mean a lot, of games because of their experience. The Buckeyes have five seniors and six juniors on their team. That’s eleven upper classmen on a sixteen man roster. In their first game of 2009, a 100 to 60 beat down of Alcorn State, 6’ 7” guard-forward Evan Turner dished out 10 assists, grabbed 17 rebounds and scored 14 points. If the junior keeps it up, then expect both Purdue and Michigan State to finish behind the Buckeyes in the Big Ten this season.


4. Michigan Wolverines +500 - - The odds on the Michigan Wolverines to win the Big Ten probably are a bit too low for most gamblers. After all, Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue appear to be much stronger than the Wolverines, but the Wolverines return senior DeShawn Sims who averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds as a junior last season. If Sims improves just a bit, he could vault the Wolverines into elite status. That would make them a tough team in the Big Ten.

Long Shot

Wisconsin +1200 - - Somehow, someway, Wisconsin will make a run for the Big Ten title. They do it every season even though they appear hopelessly outclassed every season. A lot of their success no doubt will depend on senior guard Trevon Hughes who averaged over 12 points and 3 assists per game last season. Hughes is going to have to bring his assists average up to at least 5 if the Badgers have any shot at Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State or Purdue, but he could do it and, again, this is Wisconsin. The Badgers always come to play.