The new-look men’s Big Ten Conference Tournament kicks off on Wednesday as only the top 15 schools are advancing to this year's event. Wednesday’s premier matchup will feature the 15-seed Iowa Hawkeyes (16-15, 7-13 Big Ten) squaring off against the 10-seed Ohio State Buckeyes (17-14, 9-11 Big Ten).
Iowa needs to win the tournament – or make a run to the championship game – to have any chance at making the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes lost eight of their last 11 games, all Big Ten Conference matchups.
Ohio State is in a similar boat, but the Buckeyes have a chance to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The school has lost six of their past 10 games, but Ohio State can make their case by winning for a second time this season against Iowa and making a run in the conference tourney.
The winner advances to tomorrow’s game, facing the Wisconsin Badgers in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Which team will the Badgers face? We’ll cover that and our three favorite player prop bets for this Big Ten Conference Tournament matchup.
Junior guard Bruce Thornton is driving the Buckeyes’ offense. The 6-foot-2 guard has 17.5 points per game to lead his team. He’s also contributing 4.5 assists per outing and grabbing 3.4 rebounds per night.
In three of his past four games, Thornton has eclipsed the 20-point mark for the Buckeyes. Only in the team’s 66-60 loss to Indiana did he fail to eclipse the 17.5-point total. Bettors should take the over on this scoring prop bet.
Payton Sandfort has done a little bit of everything for Iowa this season. The 6-foo-8 player is the team’s leading score (16.3/game) and rebound (6.3/game) heading into this season. He’s also contributing 2.9 assists per game to complement his Hawkeyes’ offensive presence.
Sandfort has had seven or more rebounds in five straight games, but the Buckeyes held him to only four boards in 31 minutes of action. It’s fair to see this prop happening either way, but I’ll take the recent history and project Sandfort to finish with seven boards covering this wager.
Forwawd Devin Royal is a big reason the Buckeyes are on the cusp of an NCAA Tournament bid. The 6-foot-6 player is scoring 13.6 points, grabbing 6.9 rebounds, and dishing out 1.1 assists per game this season.
Still, in four of the past five games, Royal has failed to amass 21 or more total points and rebounds. The sophomore’s scoring has been erratic over the second half of the season, and bettors should take the under on this player prop bet.
The Buckeyes won their previous matchup 82-67 against the Hawkeyes in late January. Since then, Ohio State has won by five or fewer points three times. Winning by small margins won’t make bettors feel confident about taking Ohio State to cover the 5.5-point spread.
What should make bettors confident in picking the Buckeyes to cover is the mismatches Ohio State has against Iowa. The Hawkeyes are the faster team and the better offensive team. It’s March, so upsets can happen. But Ohio State winning by six or more points is the surest bet for this contest.