Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: Mike Smith, Rocket Watts
We’re well into the month of March, which means bettors are hoping to cash in on Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans.
According to data released by BetMGM, no team has taken more bets to win the Big Ten conference tournament than the Spartans at 35-1 odds.
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Izzo’s group has three notable upsets in its past six games, beating Illinois, Ohio State and Michigan to resuscitate its NCAA Tournament chances. What was almost a betting coin flip not long ago now looks almost certain. The Spartans are -1000 to make the tournament, according to odds at DraftKings.
The Spartans have a tough road as the No. 9 seed in the conference bracket. Michigan State first has to beat a Maryland team it recently lost to, 73-55. If the Spartans get past Maryland, they’ll meet Michigan for the third time.
That would be a matchup of the two most popular bets in the conference tournament. While Sparty has the most bets, Michigan is taking in the most money by a wide margin. Almost half the total money wagered on the Big Ten tournament is on the Wolverines to win it all at 7-4 odds. Michigan has taken 44% of the handle; the next-closest team is Purdue with 12%.
Iowa and Illinois are the top seeds on the other side of the bracket, each taking 15% of bets to win the conference. The Illini hold the slight handle advantage at 8.4% compared to the Hawkeyes’ 7.6%.
Action Network college basketball contributor Tanner McGrath is selling Iowa and Michigan while buying into Illinois and Michigan State for the tournament. (You can check out his full preview here.)
If you’re looking for a longshot in the conference, Stuckey is taking a close look at Wisconsin. At time of publish, less than 2% of bets were on the Badgers.
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