Deposit Instantly Using Your Credit Card at Sportsbook.com!

2008 Big 10 Basketball Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

Coach Tom Izzo will have one of his better Michigan State teams this year. While another trip to the NCAA Tournament is all but certain with this squad, they’ll have their work cut out for them to reach the top of the Big 10. It’s all up to the team, who has a great group of individuals, but that will have to work together if they want to take out a team like Purdue for the conference title. The Spartans have the best odds of any team in the Big 10 at +2000 to win the NCAA Tournament.

Purdue exceeded expectations last year, both in the performance in the Big 10 and with their impressive 25 win season. This year the expectations will be harder to exceed, but, with the core of their team back for the 2008-09 season, the Boilermakers might do just that.

Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan is as good as they come in college basketball and he’s put together another stellar team. There will be some questions that need to be answered about the Badgers, but there’s no questioning the coaching and the overall talent of the team.

Ohio State will contend for the Big 10 title if their young players mature quickly, but they are young for sure. Out of Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State, the Buckeyes are the weakest, but not by much, and a lot could change over the course of the year with the freshman talent they’ve brought in.

There’s no denying the immediate positive impact that head coach Tubby Smith has had on the Minnesota basketball program. With Tubby’s first full recruiting class, this is a team on the rise in the Big 10 as well as the national scene.

While Illinois appears to have fallen behind the pack in the Big 10, they have set the wheels in motion to return to prominence in a few years. This year the Illini won’t sniff the top of the heap in the conference, but there will be flashes of a great team in Illinois as early as this season.

The Michigan Wolverines have fallen on hard times in terms of their basketball program. No longer the draw it once was for recruits, it’s getting harder and harder for Michigan to stay competitive. There’s still a tradition here, however, and I don’t believe the Wolverines will be down for long.

Penn State can never seem to put a full season together. They look unstoppable, then get beat by the worst teams in the conference. It looks like more of the same from the Nittany Lions until they can prove otherwise.

Things are starting to improve for the Northwestern basketball team, but it’s been slow going. They have a few interesting freshman that could start and develop into big time players in the conference, but as of right now the Wildcats are looking at a bottom-tier team in the Big 10.

Iowa is still rebuilding a team that hasn’t been a major factor in Big 10 play in several years. There’s been a lack of competitive fire for the Hawkeyes, but second year head coach Todd Lickliter seems to have things going in the right direction, Hawk fans will need to be patient, though, as it doesn’t look like Iowa will improve much this season.

Indiana gets a free pass this year with the fallout from last year’s Kelvin Sampson debacle. New coach, Tom Crean will get a little slack for starters, but he will need to turn things around quickly to avoid the ax. The Hoosiers aren’t expected to do much of anything with their current squad.

Don’t be a square this basketball betting season! Put yourself in position to dominate the NCAA basketball odds with college basketball picks from our expert basketball handicappers.

Get winning basketball picks all the way through March Madness!

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in: