Big Ten Tournament 2016: Bracket Seeds, Odds, Matchups and Predictions

The Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan State Spartans put on an epic show in last year's Big Ten tournament. Can the Indiana Hoosiers and Spartans put on an equally good show this time around?

Last year's championship game needed overtime to decide a winner. Michigan State pushed Wisconsin to the limit, but the Badgers emerged as the stronger team in overtime and defeated the Spartans.

This year, Michigan State may have finished as the runner-up to Indiana in the regular season, but the Spartans are favored to come away with the conference tournament title. The Spartans are 27-20 favorites, while the Hoosiers are the second choice at 7-2, according to Odds Shark.

Maryland and Purdue are the third and fourth seeds, respectively, and if Michigan State and Indiana fall short in their quests to win the conference tournament, the Terrapins and Boilermakers would appear to have the best chance.

However, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan will not be easy outs as the fifth through eighth seeds. All of them had winning records in the Big Ten's regular season.

On the other hand, it is unlikely that Northwestern, Penn State, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota or Rutgers would have any kind of decent chance.

Date	Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
March 9	1	Minnesota (13) vs. Illinois (12)	4:30 p.m.	ESPN2
March 9	2	Rutgers (14) vs. Nebraska (11)	7 p.m.	BTN
March 10	3	Northwestern (9) vs. Michigan (8)	Noon	BTN
March 10	4	Illinois/Minnesota vs. Iowa (5)	2:30 p.m.	BTN
March 10	5	Penn State (10) vs. Ohio State (7)	6:30 p.m.	ESPN2
March 10	6	Nebraska/Rutgers vs. Wisconsin (6)	9 p.m.	ESPN2
March 11	7	Michigan/Northwestern vs. Indiana (1)	Noon	ESPN
March 11	8	Game 4 winner vs. Purdue (4)	2:30 p.m.	ESPN
March 11	9	Game 5 winner vs. Michigan State (2)	6:30 p.m.	BTN
March 11	10	Game 6 winner vs. Maryland (3)	9 p.m.	BTN
March 12	11	Semifinal (Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner)	1 p.m.	CBS
March 12	12	Semifinal (Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner)	3:30 p.m.	CBS
March 13	13	Championship	3 p.m.	CBS

Michigan State is a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and head coach Tom Izzo's team is playing superb basketball, having won six games in a row and 10 of its last 11.

National Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine leads the Spartans, averaging a conference-leading 19.6 points per game in addition to 7.5 rebounds per game. Valentine thirsts for the big moment and seems to always come through with the big shot, key pass or important rebound when the game is on the line.

Valentine's play has impressed Dan Dakich of 1070 The Fan:

"

Best Overall Player..Denzel Valentine MSU..I believe he is America's Best Player. Right now nobody makes others better nor does as much

— Dan Dakich (@dandakich) March 7, 2016"

Senior forward Matt Costello is a bull on the boards with a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game and has also proved to be a solid scorer with an average of 10.5 points per game.

Bryn Forbes showed tremendous improvement this season, averaging 15.1 points per night while connecting on 50.5 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

The Hoosiers had a wonderful season for head coach Tom Crean, who quieted many of the critics who had been unhappy with his previous coaching performances. Yogi Ferrell has been a solid player for the Hoosiers throughout his career, but he turned it up a notch this season, averaging 17.1 points and 5.5 assists per game.

James Blackmon Jr. was second on the team in scoring with a mark of 15.8 points per game, while Troy Williams and Thomas Bryant both averaged double figures in scoring.

Team	Big Ten Record	Odds
Michigan State	13-5	27-20
Indiana	15-3	7-2
Maryland	12-6	5-1
Purdue	12-6	5-1
Iowa	12-6	7-1
Wisconsin	12-6	11-1
Michigan	10-8	16-1
Ohio State	11-7	25-1
Northwestern	8-10	25-1
Penn State	7-11	25-1
Nebraska	6-12	25-1
Illinois	5-13	25-1
Minnesota	2-16	25-1
Rutgers	1-17	25-1

Maryland played consistently all season, and the Terps were one of four teams that tied for third place. However, they earned the No. 3 seed, and they have a couple of gems on their side in Melo Trimble and Diamond Stone.

Trimble led the team in scoring with a mark of 14.4 points per game, while Stone was right behind him with 12.7 points per night. Stone connected on an eye-catching 56.1 percent of his shots from the field during the regular season.

The tournament will open Wednesday night in Indianapolis with 13th-seeded Minnesota meeting 12th-seeded Illinois and 14th-seeded Rutgers challenging 11th-seeded Nebraska.

Illinois used to be among the Big Ten's elite, but the Fighting Illini have fallen a long way. However, they should have enough to beat the Golden Gophers.

Rutgers was winless in the Big Ten until the Scarlet Knights trounced Minnesota in their last game of the regular season, but don't expect them to stay close to the Cornhuskers.

Look for Michigan State and Indiana to live up to their seeding and meet in the championship game. While Indiana is capable of extending Michigan State to the final moments, look for Valentine and his teammates to cut down the nets Sunday afternoon.