College Basketball Predictions, Odds, Picks | 2024-25 Big Ten Betting Preview

The Big Ten will have a different look for the 2024-2025 college basketball season. Like football, there are now 18 teams due to the additions of UCLA, Oregon, USC and Washington.

Zach Edey and Terrence Shannon Jr. are now in the NBA, but Purdue and Illinois should still battle it out for the title.

Indiana performed well in the transfer portal and added some huge names. UCLA, Oregon and Rutgers could be in the running for the Big Ten title, as well.

This will shape up to be a pretty competitive season, so here's my 2024-25 Big Ten betting preview.

2024-25 Big Ten Regular Season NCAAB Conference Title Odds

Conference Title Contenders

Purdue Boilermakers

Edey is gone, but this Purdue roster will still be in contention for a Big Ten crown, especially with Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer leading the offense.

Unlike most teams in modern day college hoops, much of this roster is returning this year. The Boilers also added a few key freshmen in Daniel Jacobson, Raleigh Burgess and Gicarri Harris. Jacobson and Harris are both four-star recruits, according to 247sports.

However, the Boilers' production will mostly come from Smith, Loyer, Myles Colvin, Camden Heide and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Since head coach Matt Painter likes to play inside-out, Kaufman-Renn could see an explosion in his production.

Will Berg and Jacobson are both taller than Kaufman-Renn — as is Caleb Furst — so these three will see a share in post play.

Edey was so dominant, though, that someone will have to step up. Kaufman-Renn looks to be the guy because Smith and Loyer can't carry the load alone.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Last season, the Illini reached their first Elite Eight since 2005, so it was a special season.

For the most part, this is a brand-new roster, though.

Ty Rodgers and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn return to the fold, but head coach Brad Underwood has shown he's willing to hit the ground running in the transfer portal.

He added Champaign-native Kylan Boswell from Arizona to man the point. Ben Humrichous is another add from Evansville, as he can hoist the 3 ball.

Also, Tre White (Louisville), Carey Booth (Notre Dame) and Jake Davis (Mercer) all provide length and athleticism to the wings.

The freshmen will be counted on for production, too, as Tomislav Ivisic, Kasparas Jakucionis, Will Riley and Morez Johnson Jr. are all highly-touted recruits.

This lineup seems to be as deep as it's ever been. The Illini don't have Coleman Hawkins and Terrence Shannon Jr. to default to, but they should find their groove about a month into the season.

UCLA Bruins

Mick Cronin takes his UCLA contender to the Big Ten, and much of this group comes via the transfer portal.

Dylan Andrews and Sebastian Mack will run the offense with Kobe Johnson (USC), Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State), William Kyle III (South Dakota State), Skyy Clark (Louisville), Eric Dailey Jr. (Oklahoma State) and Dominick Harris (Loyola Marymount) getting critical reps, as well.

Lazar Stefanovic and Harris look like the best 3-point threats amongst this group, but scoring could come from anywhere on this roster. Trent Perry and Eric Freeny should be impactful freshmen, too.

Cronin did have some issues with team chemistry last year, and that can be a problem with a team full of transfers.

UCLA has the talent, but can it remain atop the Big Ten if it can't discover its offensive identity quickly?

Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana might have won the transfer portal in the offseason. Mike Woodson landed Myles Rice from Washington State, Oumar Ballo from Arizona, Kanaan Carlyle from Stanford, Luke Goode from Illinois and Langdon Hatton from Bellarmine.

He also added Bryson Tucker as a four-star freshman.

2024 resulted in a bit of a letdown season for Indiana. Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako were the lone bright spots in an empty-handed campaign, and both are back for this season.

Trey Galloway and Rice will handle the guard duties, but the bulk of this team’s dominance will be in the post. Rice could benefit from this, but he hasn't been much of a 3-point threat, hitting under 30% from distance last year.

If any of the four trees are hurt or in foul trouble, though, they have other options.

This is Woodson’s best roster since he's been in Bloomington. If he doesn't finish near the top of the Big Ten, Indiana could be looking for a new head coach.

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Oregon Ducks

Oregon hit the transfer portal hard, but Jackson Shelstad is still the anchor of this offense.

TJ Bamba was a nice addition from Villanova. Dana Altman also added Brandon Angel from Stanford, Ra’Heim Moss from Toledo, Supreme Cook from Georgetown and Jayson Williams-Johnson (D-III).

Jamari Phillips is a four-star recruit who could also make an impact.

Shelstad will be the guy to watch, though, as a Preseason All-Big Ten member.

It’s a quote as old as college basketball, but good guards lead to strong teams in March. Shelstad is one of those names who could propel Oregon to the top of the Big Ten and to a deep March Madness run.

Potential NCAA Tournament Bids

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers has the best recruiting class in the Big Ten, so it could have the most raw talent in the conference. This will likely put the Scarlet Knights into the NCAA Tournament field.

Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are both top-five recruits in the country.

The bulk of the lineup sees some turnover from 2023-2024, though. Jeremiah Williams will be starting — which helps — but Clifford Omoruyi, Aundre Hyatt and several others are no longer with the Scarlet Knights.

Steve Pikiell probably doesn't mind, though, because as solid as the defense was, the offense was one of the worst in the conference.

He added Zach Martini from Princeton, Jordan Derkack from Merrimack, Tyson Acuff from Eastern Michigan and PJ Hayes IV from San Diego.

As talented as the Scarlet Knights may be, it could take a few games to find a rhythm. That said, it wouldn't be out of the question to see them dancing.

Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern loses a key player in Boo Buie, but it still maintains a good portion of last year's NCAA Tournament roster.

Chris Collins added Jalen Leach (Fairfield) and Keenan Fitzmorris (Stony Brook) to the fold.

Ty Berry will have a much more prominent role in the offense beyond being a 3-point threat. Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli will likely be the go-to guys with Matthew Nicholson running the post.

Luke Hunger and Fitzmorris can back up Nicholson, though, so adding size was a key to this year’s success. The Wildcats struggled with rebounding, at times, last year.

The bench may, once again, be a little short, but this shouldn't be a major concern if everyone stays healthy.

Since Martinelli showed he could be an offensive force and Barnhizer is a preseason All-Big Ten name, this team could reach the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season.

Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State always finds a way.

Jase Richardson and Kur Teng are four-star prospects who could make an impact for Tom Izzo.

Jeremy Fears should lead the offense, with the help of Tre Holloman, Jaden Akins, Coen Carr and Xavier Booker. Akins and Holloman will be the primary 3-point threats.

This team will need to discover its identity because playing big may not be an option. Carson Cooper and Szymon Zapala (Longwood) can help in the post, but outside of Booker, no one else is above 6-foot-10.

Frankie Fidler from Omaha can help on the perimeter, so it wouldn't be shocking to see the Spartans take more 3s with their strength being in the backcourt.

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan hired FAU's Dusty May — who has grown accustomed to playing in March — and he brings Vlad Goldin with him from Boca Raton.

Nimari Burnett, Jace Howard and Will Tschetter are the mainstays, but May did most of his roster formation in the portal.

He added Tre Donaldson (Auburn), Roddy Gayle Jr. (OSU), Danny Wolf (Yale), Rubin Jones (North Texas) and Sam Walters (Alabama).

The interesting thing about this roster is it could be starting two seven-footers in Wolf and Goldin. This could be a mismatch for nearly every other team in the conference.

Jones and Donaldson are the deep threats, but most of May’s teams have had a balanced offensive approach. It wouldn't be surprising to see the same thing happen in Ann Arbor.

Potential Surprises

Iowa Hawkeyes

Payton Sandfort and Owen Freeman are back for the Hawkeyes, and they're expecting Josh Dix to make a leap.

Sure Tony Perkins and Ben Krikke are gone, but as long as Fran McCaffery is the head coach, the Hawkeyes will score points.

If they can play strong defense too, watch out for them as a sleeper team.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Bruce Thornton will be leading the offense for head coach Jake Diebler, who earned his stripes as an interim coach upon Chris Holtmann’s dismissal.

Meechie Johnson Jr. returns to the Buckeyes after a couple of years at South Carolina. Diebler also added Micah Parrish (San Diego State), Sean Stewart (Duke), Aaron Bradshaw (Kentucky), Ques Glover (Samford) and John Mobley Jr. (freshman).

If the transfers don't pan out as expected, Evan Mahaffey and Devin Royal will see action from the bench.

3-point shooting and an offensive identity should be the question marks for the Buckeyes. Glover is the only one who was above 35% from 3 last season.

In modern hoops, this can cause issues. They still have multiple scoring options, but much of the production could be from 2-point range.

Even still, Diebler could have his guys dancing in March.

USC Trojans

Eric Musselman can always lead a surprising team, and he landed two four-star recruits in Isaiah Elohim and Jalen Shelley.

The bulk of Musselman's teams come from the transfer portal, and he landed some good ones.

Desmond Claude (Xavier), Terrance Williams II (Michigan), Saint Thomas (Northern Colorado), Chibuzo Agbo (Boise State), Josh Cohen (Massachusetts), Clark Slajchert (Penn), Bryce Pope (UCSD), Matt Knowling (Yale), Kevin Patton Jr. (San Diego) and Rashaun Agee (BGSU) all joined him in his quest for an NCAA Tournament appearance.

As always, a team full of transfers can take a while to mesh. The Trojans have length throughout the starting lineup, and the positive for this team is most are upperclassmen or graduate transfers.

That said, there's too much up in the air to rely on the Trojans to do damage early in the season.

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Bottom of the Barrel

Washington Huskies

Jase Butler and Zoom Diallo are both highly-touted prospects joining the Huskies.

Danny Sprinkle, formerly at Utah State and Montana State, will be at the helm this year.

KenPom has the Huskies at the bottom of the Big Ten because there are several question marks on the roster.

Great Osobor (Utah State) is a preseason All-Big Ten player, and he'll be the mainstay in the lineup.

DJ Davis (Butler), Luis Kortright (URI), Tyler Harris (Portland) and Mekhi Mason (Rice) are all interesting additions.

Like with USC, there could be some lumps here, and there are just too many teams atop the league who'll beat Washington to make it a contender.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Dawson Garcia is the best player on this roster, as he's a preseason All-Big Ten name.

Head coach Ben Johnson did stay active in the portal and has shown he can coach.

Mike Mitchell Jr. will man the point, while Tyler Cochran (Toledo), Femi Odukale (NMSU) and Frank Mitchell (Canisius) should see plenty of action.

The only reason the Gophers are at the bottom of the barrel is because of their roster turnover.

Otherwise, Johnson could prove the doubters wrong if he finds a role for his new additions.

Maryland Terrapins

Maryland has seemingly been in basketball purgatory for some time now, and Kevin Willard is back for his third season.

This team should thrive on the defensive end, which allowed it to notch some upsets last year.

Derik Queen was a nice addition as a top-15 recruit to man the center position. Also, Julian Reese will return alongside Jordan Geronimo and Deshawn Harris-Smith.

The backcourt is a bit of a question, though. Ja’Kobi Gillespie was a bucket-getter at Belmont and Selton Miguel is a nice addition from USF, but consistency could be an issue from the guard positions.

This is what could inevitably lead the Terps to be a cellar-dweller playing spoiler in February.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Ace Baldwin Jr. is a preseason All-Big Ten name, but the rest of the Nittany Lions' lineup leaves a bit to be desired.

No one else in this lineup played more than 20 minutes last year, outside of Zach Hicks and Nick Kern Jr.

The Nittany Lions will need production from strong recruits like Miles Goodman and Hudson Ward, but the depth is simply not there.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

As fun as 2023-24 was for Cornhusker fans, they lost some key names and a bulk of their scoring production.

Brice Williams and Juwan Gary will be prominent fixtures in the lineup.

Also, Fred Hoiberg added several names in the portal, but Andrew Morgan (North Dakota State) is the only true shooter.

Rollie Worster is a nice passer from Utah, but the rest of the lineup leaves a bit to be desired.

Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin just looks awful compared to its roster last year. Max Klesmit, John Blackwell and Steven Crowl return, and Camren Hunter (UCA), Xavier Amos (Northern Illinois) and John Tonje (Mizzou) should see some production.

Tyler Wahl, Chucky Hepburn and AJ Storr are all gone, though, so unless Greg Gard has something up his sleeve, this team might see one of its worst finishes in some time.