Big Ten Tournament 2018 odds: Michigan State atop the betting lines for conference event

The Michigan State Spartans ended the regular season on a 12-0 straight-up run, climbing all the way up to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 Poll. The Spartans will try to stay hot and lock up their sixth Big Ten conference championship this week.

Michigan State is a +250 favorite on the odds to win the Big Ten Tournament at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Superstitious bettors may notice the even-year trend for the Spartans, whose last three conference tournament wins came in 2012, 2014, and 2016.

Despite ending the year on a dominant run, the Spartans haven’t been a great bet of late with a 2-8-2 against the spread record over their last eight games. The Spartans, who also sit as chalk on the 2018 NCAA Tournament odds, will face the winner of the second-round matchup between the Maryland Terrapins (+2500 to win the Big Ten Tournament) and the Wisconsin Badgers (+3300) in the quarterfinals.

The Purdue Boilermakers (+275) had a 19-0 SU and 11-8 ATS run snapped with a surprising 0-3 SU and 1-2 ATS slump in early February, picking up losses to Ohio State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. The Boilermakers did bounce back to win their last three games of the regular season, and with a deep team that plays well on both sides of the court this figures to be Michigan State’s biggest challenger

Purdue’s tournament action will kick off Friday, facing the winner of Indiana (+2000) vs. the winner of Wednesday’s Minnesota (+10000) vs. Rutgers (+10000) match.

The Michigan Wolverines are the fifth seed heading into the Big Ten Tournament, but are going off at the fourth best odds to win at +700. Michigan has had an excellent season at 24-7 SU and 19-10-1 ATS and enters this tournament on a 5-0 SU and ATS hot streak. The Wolverines will face the winner of Iowa (+10000) vs. Illinois (+10000) on Thursday in hopes of advancing into a quarterfinal match against Nebraska (+1000).

Rounding out the top competitors to win the Big Ten, the Ohio State Buckeyes are going off at +600 to win the title at online sports betting sites, which would tie them with Michigan State for the most conference tournament championships at five. The Buckeyes await the winner of Thursday’s Penn State (+1000) vs. Northwestern (+3300) matchup.

2018 Big Ten Tournament Odds

Michigan State +250

Purdue +275

Ohio State +600

Michigan +700

Penn State +1000

Nebraska +1000

Indiana +2000

Maryland +2500

Wisconsin +3300

Northwestern +3300

Minnesota +10000

Illinois +10000

Rutgers +10000

Iowa +10000

For more odds info, picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes, or check it out at OddsShark.libsyn.com.