Predicting the men’s Big Ten Tournament champion
The Wisconsin men were knocked out of the double-bye spot with a loss this past weekend to Penn State.
Still, the Badgers enter the Big Ten Tournament with as strong a chance as anybody to cut down the nets this weekend.
Wisconsin, the No. 5 seed, will begin play on Thursday vs. either Northwestern or Minnesota. Michigan State, the regular season champion, Maryland, Michigan and UCLA all received byes to the quarterfinals.
Illinois knocked off the Badgers in the finals last year, 93-87, winning for the fourth time. The Spartans have the most championships at six, last claiming gold in 2019.
Ohio State has also won four while Wisconsin owns three in 2004, ‘08 and ‘15. They have also been the runners-up five times, which is tied for most with the Buckeyes.
Here are game-by-game predictions for the Big Ten Tournament:
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS
First Round
Minnesota over Northwestern
Iowa over Ohio State
Rutgers over USC
Second Round
Indiana over Oregon
Wisconsin over Minnesota
Illinois over Iowa
Purdue over Rutgers
Quarterfinals
Indiana over Michigan State
Wisconsin over UCLA
Illinois over Maryland
Purdue over Michigan
Semifinals
Wisconsin over Indiana
Illinois over Purdue
Championship
Wisconsin over Illinois
