Big Ten
Betting odds courtesy of Bovada
Wisconsin (30-8; 12-6 Big Ten)
NCAA Title Odds: 9/1
The Wisconsin Badgers were inches away from proceeding to the 2014 NCAA title game, but there’s every reason to expect the team to be right back there this March.
The Badgers had just graduated a host of valuable pieces, but still strung together a 30-win season and lost by just one to Kentucky in its bid to advance last year. Frank Kaminksy became a dangerous and nearly unguardable stretch-5 and he decided to come back for his senior season, despite being a near-lock to be drafted in the first round to the NBA.
The Badgers returned all significant players except for Ben Brust and the team is tied for the second-best odds to win the title this season. Bo Ryan made the Badgers a great two-way team, something it has lacked before with its identity as a defensive team. Kaminsky has a large frame and is very skilled with the ball in his hand, and he’ll keep this team going as its primary offensive option. The Badgers are a dangerous team from behind the arc, hitting 37 percent last year.
Traevon Jackson will hope to bounce back from last season’s disappointment (he missed at the line and on the final jumper against Kentucky) now in his senior season along with Kaminksy. The Badgers should make a deep run in March, being a favorite pick for the Final Four.
Michigan State (29-9; 12-6)
NCAA Title Odds: 33/1
The Michigan State Spartans were preseason favorites to win the NCAA title, and getting to the Elite 8 was only a disappointment in that sense. The meltdown started to come in January and the team had a 5-7 stretch that featured losing three of four and falling to conference foe Michigan. The Spartans lost to eventual champion UConn 60-54, and will enter this season without three of its top four scorers from a year ago.
Tom Izzo may choose to make this a defensively focused team as it grows together, and though Keith Appling is gone senior Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine, along with incoming freshman Lourawls Nairn will help offset that loss. Nairn will need to hone his jumper but could eventually be a big time threat with his speed both with the ball and off it.
Branden Dawson is the returning leader in scoring, rebounding and assists and has great athleticism. He may average double-digit boards this year, and he’s certainly going to be the best player on the team. Whether that is good enough for the Spartans to be title threats in March is a bit more dubious.
Nebraska (19-13; 11-7)
NCAA Title Odds: 100/1
Nebraska reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in 16 years and only its seventh appearance in school history. Still, the Cornhuskers have yet to win a tournament game and fell 74-60 to Baylor last season in the tournament. The Cornhuskers posted a surprising 11-7 conference record last year and went 11-3 down the stretch.
Terran Petteway will be returning after transferring from Texas Tech and he’s a big time scorer. He may in fact be the best scorer in the Big Ten. He shot 32.7 percent from three last year, and needs only to slightly improve that mark while cutting down on his turnovers. As Petteway goes, so will be the fate of this team.
Michigan (28-9; 15-3)
NCAA Title Odds: 33/1
The Michigan Wolverines were shot down by Aaron Harrison of Kentucky last year to lose in the Final Four by three points, 75-72. Losing Big Ten player of the year Nik Staukas is sure to set the Wolverines back a good bit, and the team will be heavily reliant on some young talent this year.
Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary are departed as well, leaving three giant holes on the Wolverines’ roster that may be a couple years from being adequately filled. Nine of the 12 scholarship players for the Wolverines are freshmen or sophomores. Caris LeVert should be ready to make the leap to being a featured player after spending his last two seasons behind more experienced talent. He has a steady and smooth ams that will put him in the Big Ten leaders in scoring.
Iowa (20-13; 9-9)
NCAA Title Odds: 66/1
As of Feb. 15 last year, the Iowa Hawkeyes were 19-6 and many thought at that point, the team coul potentially be the best in the Big Ten. Following that point, the Hawkeyes lost seven of its last eight games, five of which were by seven points or fewer. Roy Devyn Marble is an NBA player now, and his 17 points per game will be sorely missed.
Aaron White will be the one to absorb the load and he has been a strong rotation player for the last three seasons. White averaged 12.8 points per game last season while shooting 58 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the line. That kind of efficiency indicates he could keep the Hawkeyes very competitive once again this season.
