With six weeks left in the B1G men's basketball season, the regular season champion contenders have emerged: Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue. Here is a breakdown of the Big Ten title contenders.
The contenders
- Nebraska 9-0: In the preseason B1G rankings, the Cornhuskers were ranked in the second nine, so to say that being atop the standing is a surprise is an understatement.
- Illinois 8-1: The Illini boasts an elite offense, averaging over 85 points per game, ranking among the best in program history.Michigan 8-1: The Wolverines lead the B1G in points scored and assist/turnover ratio in conference play.
- Michigan State: The Spartans average 79.1 points per game and hold opponents to 62.8 points.
- Purdue: Currently on a two-game losing streak, the Boilermakers were the preseason media poll favorite.
The schedules: contender v contenders
- Nebraska: The Cornhuskers go to Ann Arbor to face Michigan and host the Illini and Purdue. They go to Southern California towards the end of the season, with USC on 2/28 and UCLA 3/3, before ending the season with Iowa at home.
- Michigan: This week the Wolverines host Nebraska and go to East Lansing and have visits to Purdue and Illinois. They close out the season with Michigan State at home.
- Illinois: The Illini go to Nebraska and Michigan State, and host Michigan. They’ll head to Southern California with USC on 2/18 and UCLA 2/21. They close out at Maryland.
- Michigan State: The Spartans host Michigan and Illinois, then go to Purdue and Michigan. They face Michigan twice, with the finale in Ann Arbor likely to have a big impact on the championship.
- Purdue: The Boilermakers go to Nebraska, then host Michigan and Michigan State. They close out the season at home to Wisconsin.
Prognostications
With so much basketball to play, a prediction is a fool’s errand. So, let’s see what the analytics say:
ESPN’s BPI (Basketball Power Index): At the beginning of January, Michigan’s score was 67.5% chance of winning the conference, but going into the last week of the month, the index has been whittled down to 23.3%. Reflecting the tight race, Illinois and Purdue are at 20.3%, Michigan State at 19.3%, and Nebraska at 17.9%.
Bart Torvik: Torvik has two scores of interest, share of the title and outright winner. He’s got Nebraska at 49.2% & 27.7%, Michigan at 38.4% and 19.5%, Illinois at 29.0% and 13.2%, Michigan State at 17.5% and 6.7%, and Purdue at 6.0% and 1.6%
Fan Duel: The degenerates at Fan Duel currently have Michigan as runaway favorites at -105, with Nebraska at +350, Illinois at +410, Purdue at +850, and Michigan State at +1000. Helpful notes for non-gamblers: minus (-) are for favorites and equates to how much you bet to win $100, whereas plus (+) are for underdogs, which means how much you win if you bet $100.