Big Ten Tournament 2020: Betting Tips for Round 2 Odds, Spreads and Over-Under

One of the best individual frontcourt matchups you will see at a conference tournament takes place Thursday at the Big Ten tournament.

Iowa Hawkeyes forward Luka Garza and Daniel Oturu of the Minnesota Golden Gophers are double-double machines, and both are expected to receive a heavy amount of paint touches at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Minnesota advanced to this stage by earning a blowout win over the Northwestern Wildcats, while Iowa settled in as the No. 5 seed after a loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini Sunday.

The four-game slate opens with an intriguing battle between the Michigan Wolverines and Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers has been one of the best stories of the men's college basketball season, but it faces a tough challenge against a team that typically performs well at this stage of the season.

Big Ten Tournament 2nd-Round Schedule

No. 8 Rutgers vs. No. 9 Michigan (-2.5) (noon, BTN) (Over/Under: 135)

No. 5 Iowa (-1.5) vs. No. 12 Minnesota (2:25 p.m., BTN) (O/U: 149)

No. 7 Ohio State (-2) vs. No. 10 Purdue (6:30 p.m., BTN) (O/U: 128.5)

No. 6 Penn State (-2.5) vs. No. 11 Indiana (8:55 p.m., BTN) (O/U: 138)

All Times ET. Odds via Caesars Palace and Oddschecker.

Betting Tips

Iowa (-1.5) vs. Minnesota

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Despite falling in three of its last four games, Iowa seems like the best bet with a small line in its favor.

Fran McCaffery's side owns a pair of victories over Minnesota by a combined margin of victory of 23 points.

Garza produced a pair of 20-point performances in those meetings, and he comes into Indianapolis with at least 20 points in every contest since January 10.

The junior has six double-doubles during that stretch, with two of them coming in the final three regular-season games. Garza typically draws a large crowd in the paint, but that likely will not be the case with Oturu on his back for long stretches.

Oturu had 24 points, eight rebounds and knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the first-round win over Northwestern. The sophomore also had one double-double in the two meetings between the Hawkeyes and Golden Gophers.

Which big man wins the battle in the paint could determine the final result, but so could the supporting casts.

Minnesota's top scorers produce at a larger rate than Iowa's, as Marcus Carr and Gabe Kalscheur both average over 11 points per game. However, the Hawkeyes have more scoring depth with Joe Wieskamp, Ryan Kreiner and Joe Toussaint among others chipping in to help Garza.

If Iowa uses a steady diet of Garza, and its guards chip in with a handful of key shots, it should have enough to power past Minnesota and set up a quarterfinal clash with Illinois.

Rutgers-Michigan Over 135

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Since Michigan defeated Rutgers 60-52 February 19, it has played in a handful of high-scoring affairs. 

Its regular-season finale against the Maryland Terrapins had 153 points, and the victorious side in each of its last four games crossed over 75 points. Rutgers has consistently scored at a high clip in victories, as it racked up at least 70 more points in each of its last six victories.

The two previous meetings between the Scarlet Knights and Wolverines were decided by a total of 14 points. If the two sides remain locked in a tight affair Thursday, we could see an inflated point total with both sides trying to match each other's production.

Juwan Howard's Wolverines have five players who average over 10 points per game, so if they need to spread the ball around for open looks, there are plenty of capable players to knock down shots.

Between Zavier Simpson, Isaiah Livers, Eli Brooks and Jon Teske, Michigan also owns plenty of postseason experience from deep Big Ten and NCAA men's basketball tournament runs. That could be beneficial in late-game situations against a Rutgers side that is enjoying one of its most successful seasons in program history.

Steve Pikiell relies on the guard duo of Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. to score the bulk of the points, but his unit does not possess the high volume of depth Michigan does. If Baker and Harper are able to match what Simpson and the Michigan guards produce, this could be a back-and-forth affair with plenty of points. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.