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2008 Big Ten Conference Tournament Preview & Predictions
The 2008 Big Ten Tournament is set to get under way on March 13th and finish up on March 16th. The tournament is set to take place at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 11 team conference awards the top 5 teams with a bye during the first day of play and the bottom 6 teams are forced to complete the hard task of winning 4 games in 4 days to earn an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Wisconsin Badgers are currently in great position to finish atop the league, as they sit one game ahead of Indiana and Purdue with just Northwestern left on their regular season schedule. Along with those three teams Michigan St. is secured a first round by. As for the 5th spot Ohio St. holds a one game lead over Minnesota, but has to beat Michigan St. in their final game before the tournament.The Big ten is a pretty top heavy this year, and while they have sent 6 to 7 teams in the past they only have 4 for sure teams heading to the dance. Ohio St. currently has the chance of being the 5th team to get an invite but will need to either upset Michigan St. or have a good run in the tournament. The Minnesota Gophers have a very long shot at getting in and will need a win against Illinois and mostly likely need to make it to at least the final game of the tournament. So lets take a look at who we think who will win the Big Ten Tournament and who we think will help themselves the most with a good showing in Indianapolis.
Winner: Indiana Hoosiers
While the top 4 teams could all walk away at the end of the tournament as the Big Ten Tournament Champions, we are going to pick the Hoosiers to prevail. While the Hoosiers looked pretty sloppy and outmatched at Michigan St, they have still won 8 of their last 10 with a poor Penn St. team left on their schedule. The Hoosiers will likely get the #2 seed as they hold the edge against Purdue if they are to remain tied at season end. This should play a big roll, as they will avoid seeing Wisconsin until the finals if they are able to make it. The Hoosiers are led by their freshman sensation Eric Gordon and Senior star D.J. White. Gordon comes in averaging a very impressive 21.3 PPG and White chips in with a very solid 17 PPG and 10 RPG. The only thing that could hurt the Hoosiers is that they will remain counting on interim coach Dan Dakich. We see this as more of a motivation for they players to play hard and not let that be an excuse for them if they fail to perform well.
Big Mover: Ohio St Buckeyes
While Minnesota has the opportunity to make the biggest move, we aren’t really giving that much of a chance at all. So we are going to take the Buckeyes to make the biggest splash in this year’s tournament. They will most likely have a first round match up against a very tough Michigan St. team. What could make this interesting is that the two teams are set to square off in the final game of the regular season. The Buckeyes will likely only need a victory in one of these two games to get a spot in the tournament. The selection committee will remember the second one the most. If they are able to win they will also help their chances if they are able to play Wisconsin close in the following round. While the Buckeyes aren’t anywhere near the team that made it to the final game of the tournament last year, they should still be at the big dance come the end of March.
For all your conference tournament and NCAA Tournament betting needs go to Sportsbook.com. It’s fast and easy to get going and will have you ready to get going on this year’s action. Be sure to check out some of our featured articles on the top teams in the NCAA and their odds to win it all found at Sportsbook.com. Also, continue to check back for more NCAA Tournament help.
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