College Basketball

Big Ten Men’s Basketball Odds: Michigan, Michigan State Chasing Midseason Favorite Purdue For Regular-Season Title

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By
Jeff Hawkins
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Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  

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Published07 Feb 2025

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Few Big Ten men’s basketball insiders expected the Michigan Wolverines to compete for a .500 record this season, let alone contend for their first conference regular-season title since 2020-21. 

Coming off one of the program’s all-time worst campaigns and entering with a nearly complete offseason roster overhaul, the No. 24-ranked Wolverines have surprised many by rising to a second-place tie with the rival Michigan State Spartans, a half-game behind the Purdue Boilermakers. 

With six teams within 3.5 games of the Boilermakers, the second half of the league schedule promises to promote an unexpected conclusion. 

Purdue Draws Top Big Ten Title Odds 

Scheduled to host the Southern Cal Trojans on Friday, the Boilermakers (+130) drew top sports-betting odds from BetOnline Sportsbook to claim their third consecutive crown. 

The Wolverines (+250) and Spartans (+275) have yet to face each other. Their first matchup is in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Feb. 21. Their second is the season-finale in East Lansing on March 9. 

In the meantime, the Wolverines face back-to-back emotional outings. First-year coach Dusty May returns to Indiana on Saturday for the first time as Michigan’s coach. May got his start as a student manager for the Hoosiers under Bob Knight.  

The national televised matinee showcase will be followed Tuesday by the Wolverines’ follow-up attempt to compete with the visiting Boilermakers (18-5 overall, 10-2 conference). In the teams’ initial meeting, the Wolverines (17-5, 9-2) suffered the season’s worst defeat, a 91-64 decision Jan. 24.  

While May’s reconstruction process may be a few years ahead of schedule, considering the state of the program at the close of last season, the Wolverines’ high-paced offensive tempo often displays its own detours. 

“We’re just having trouble putting a really solid performance together for closer to 40 minutes,” May told reporters following Wednesday’s 70-66 win over the Oregon Ducks. 

Dusty May: ‘We Played Well In Spurts’ 

The Wolverines rank 345th out of 359 programs in turnovers per game, averaging 14.8. At the same time, they rank 19th with 82.2 points per outing. One of the program’s top transfers, Danny Wolfe, who was named to the Naismith watch list for the nation’s top player, is proving to be a major influence on the sped-up rebuild.  

May said he was impressed not with the way the Wolverines performed overall against the Ducks, but he was with the fashion they remained unbeaten at Crisler Center. Their defensive intensity and free-throw efficiency belied the fact they committed just one turnover over the final five minutes. 

“We’re very fortunate to get out of here with a win tonight in a very pivotal game,” May said, as reported by MLive.com. “We played well in spurts.  

“It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t anywhere (near) where it’s going to need to be to win the championships we’re trying to win. But I do think we competed and fought at a championship level tonight.”   

If the surprising Wolverines can continue to limit their turnovers, maybe this time, they can “shock the world.” 

Big Ten Men’s Basketball Regular-Season Championship Odds    

With the Big Ten men’s basketball regular season more than halfway through, here is a look at the odds of winning the conference championship, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:

Team Big Ten Regular-Season Championship Odds
Purdue +130
Michigan +250
Michigan State +275
Maryland +1400
Wisconsin +2000
UCLA +2500
Illinois +10000

*-Odds current at time of publication