Big Ten Tournament 2020: Betting Tips for Round 1 Odds, Spreads and Over-Under

The 2020 Big Ten tournament opens Wednesday with the bottom four sides facing off against each other. 

In most years, those contests would not carry much meaning, but the Indiana Hoosiers need to win to keep their NCAA men's basketball tournament hopes alive. 

Archie Miller's team resides on the last four in column in the latest projection from ESPN's Joe Lunardi, while Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller has it as a No. 11 seed. 

The Hoosiers are expected to blow past the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Wednesday's second game, which would set up a clash with Penn State Nittany Lions. A win over Penn State could eliminate any doubt about their presence in the Big Dance. 

The first matchup pits the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Northwestern Wildcats against each other. The winner will face the Iowa Hawkeyes. 

Big Ten Tournament 1st-Round Schedule and Odds

All Times ET; Odds via Caesars Palace

No. 12 Minnesota (-8.5) vs. No. 13 Northwestern (6 p.m., BTN) (Over/Under: 137)

No. 11 Indiana (-13.5) vs. No. 14 Nebraska (8:25 p.m., BTN) (O/U: 144)

Betting Tips

Minnesota (-8.5) vs. Northwestern 

Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Minnesota has struggled recently with two wins in its last eight games, which ended its NCAA tournament hopes. 

However, those two victories were over Nebraska and Northwestern by a combined 58 points. 

The Golden Gophers defeated Northwestern by 26 points at Welsh-Ryan Arena February 23, which leads us to believe another blowout could be in the cards. 

Minnesota's biggest advantage could come in the paint through Daniel Oturu, who racked up 22 points and 12 rebounds in the win over the Wildcats. 

The sophomore center has consistently been in double figures all season, averaging 20 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. Oturu also shoots 56.2 percent from the field.

Northwestern can't focus solely on Oturu because the Golden Gophers have a pair of guards in Marcus Carr and Gabe Kalscheur who can do damage from three-point range. 

In Sunday's win over Nebraska, the trio totaled 54 points, and Carr and Kalscheur went 12-for-16 from three-point range. 

Richard Pitino's side may not make too much noise after the first round, but it has proved that it can at least handle the squads beneath it in the standings. 

Indiana (-13.5) vs. Nebraska

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Nebraska's 32-point loss to Minnesota could be a sign of things to come Wednesday. 

The Huskers are dealing with roster issues after suspensions to guards Dachon Burke Jr. and Cam Mack. 

Because they had so few available bodies, the Huskers added football players Noah Vedral and Brant Banks to the roster for the Big Ten tournament, per Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald.

While those two may be terrific athletes, it is hard for any player to adjust to the speed of a college basketball game in a short period, if they even get in the game. 

Fred Hoiberg's side has not won a Big Ten contest since January 7 and has lost six of its last seven by double digits. 

The lone exception to that run was an overtime loss to Northwestern, who could join the Huskers on the way out of Indianapolis after the first round. 

Indiana needs a confident performance to strum up some momentum going into more meaningful matchups. 

The Hoosiers only beat Nebraska by eight points back in January, but the Huskers have gotten worse since then. 

Expect big games out of Trayce Jackson-Davis, Devonte Green and Justin Smith, who are the top three scorers on the Hoosiers roster. 

If they take advantage of Nebraska's poor defense, the Hoosiers will earn an opportunity to earn another resume-solidifying win against Penn State Thursday.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com