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2026 Big Ten Tournament Predictions and Expert Betting Picks

by Robert Ferringo - 3/10/2026

Big Ten Tournament predictions Elliot Cadeau Michigan Wolverines

Eighteen teams.

There are 18 teams in the Big Ten tournament! This bloated league will (eventually) crown a champion this weekend, with the winner coming through one of the most convoluted brackets you will ever see.

To wit, if Oregon or Northwestern were to make a Cinderella run to the title they would need to win six games in six days. Yet, the league’s top four teams – Michigan, Illinois, Nebraska and Michigan State – will play their first Big Ten tournament games three days after the tournament’s opening games.

The Big Ten Tournament will take place at the United Center in Chicago. It begins Wednesday, March 11 and ends on Sunday. Here is Doc’s Sports 2026 Big Ten Conference preview and predictions:

Doc’s Sports offers college basketball expert picks for every game on our NCAA basketball predictions page.

The Favorite: Michigan (-105)

Michigan’s 19 regular season league wins are the most in Big Ten history. They are also the first team since Ohio State in 2007 to lose just once in conference play. Michigan’s size and experience are enviable. Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson make up one of the best frontcourts in college basketball. Elliot Cadeau is a veteran point guard and seniors Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle do all the little things. Michigan has outscored teams by an average of 19.4 points per game this season and they are in the Top 10 nationally in both field goal offense and field goal defense.

The Contender: Nebraska (+650)

The Huskers have been a great story in college basketball this season. A preseason afterthought, Nebraska won its first 20 games of the season and secured the No. 2 seed in the conference. It has been tough sledding down the stretch, with the Huskers going just 6-5 to close the year and earning just one unconvincing win (at home, versus Iowa, in OT) against an NCAA tournament-caliber team since Jan. 11. Rienk Mast is a stud and super shooter Pryce Sandfort is explosive. But this isn’t one of the Top 12 teams in the country and I think they will have a disappointing March.

The Dark Horse: Illinois (+375)

The Illini threw a scare into Michigan this season, starting 11-1 in Big Ten play. Illinois slid down the stretch, though, going just 4-4 in their last eight games. Three of those four losses came in overtime, though, and this group isn’t scared of anyone. Freshman Keaton Wagler has been a revelation and leads a backcourt featuring four players averaging 13 or more points per game. The Ivisic brothers give Illinois a pair of seven-footers to work around and glue guy Ben Humrichous offers bench depth. If the Illini share the basketball (and take care of it) they are best equipped to take out the Wolverines.

The Spoiler: Purdue (+650)

The Boilermakers, not the Wolverines, entered this season as the favorites to win the Big Ten. It hasn’t worked out for Purdue and its crop of superb seniors. This is it for Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer, three of the most decorated players in school history. Those three won the Big Ten championship as freshmen. They haven’t won more than one game in this tournament since. I have to think that they have one more run in them and they could carve through the bottom of this bracket.

Bubble Team To Watch: Indiana (+8000)

The Hoosiers have lost five of their last six games and have two four-game losing streaks this year. This is the most experienced team in the country, with six seniors and two juniors among their top eight players, and they will likely need to win at least two games to play their way into the NCAA tournament field. Sam Houston transfer Lamar Wilkerson leads the team with 21 points per game. But if the Hoosiers are going to need a run then Tucker DeVries must get hot in a hurry.

Early Round Matchups To Watch:

No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 16 Oregon/No. 17 Maryland (Noon, Wednesday, March 11)

If Oregon wins Tuesday evening then Dana Altman has the experience and savvy to cause Iowa some problems. Oregon has been a massive underachiever this season due in part to injury issues. Their frontcourt, led by Nate Bittle and Kwame Evans, is healthy and they should pound the Hawkeyes on the interior. If it is Maryland, then you know you are in for a rock fight with Buzz Williams and his overmatched Terps side. Iowa has lost three straight and six of eight and they have a ton of pressure on them to secure this win and lock up an NCAA tournament bid.

No. 12 Washington (-5.5) vs. No. 13 USC (2:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 11)

Washington is another team that has been crushed by injuries this season. However, they have a chance to end USC’s tournament dreams here. The Trojans are off the rails. Their best player, Chad Baker-Mazara, quit the team and USC has lost seven straight games. Washington beat the Trojans 91-72 last week and for UW’s Wesley Yates, a USC transfer, nothing would be sweater than driving a stake through the heart of their former Pac-12 rivals.

2026 Big Ten Conference Tournament Predictions: The Wolverines are just the fourth Big Ten team in the last 30 years to lose just one game in conference play. The three previous ones – Michigan State (1998-98), Illinois (2004-05) and Ohio State (2006-07) – all won the conference tournament and then all went to the Final Four. I do think that Purdue is going to make a run. And a Wisconsin-Illinois quarterfinal could be a classic. But when the dust settles I expect to see Michigan cutting down the nets.

Robert Ferringo is a member of the Basketball Writers Association of America and a professional sports handicapper for Doc's Sports. He is considered one of the best college basketball handicappers in the country and has posted 15 of 20 winning seasons. He is looking for a monster March run and you can sign up for his college basketball picks and get more information here.

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