Big Ten Conference Tournament First Round betting preview and odds
Jordan Murphy has been a rare bright spot for Minnesota as the junior forward is the only Gopher to start every game while leading the team in scoring (17.0 points).
The First Round of the Big Ten Tournament gets underway in New York City and if any of the teams involved in Wednesday's opening round hope to go dancing, it will take a miracle run to a conference tournament title.
Tournament to be played at Madison Square Garden, New York, New York.
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (+1, 160.5)
Illinois dropped its first eight Big Ten games to tie a dubious school record, and perhaps none of those defeats stung quite as much as the one it suffered last month against Iowa. The 13th-seeded Fighting Illini will seek some payback Wednesday when they meet the 12th-seeded Hawkeyes in the first round of the Big Ten tournament at New York's Madison Square Garden in a rematch of the highest-scoring game in the league this season.
Four of Illinois' first six conference losses came by one point, were decided in overtime or both, although the Illini appeared to be on the verge of getting their first league win on Jan. 11 before Iowa managed to produce the second-largest comeback in school history, overcoming an early 20-point deficit en route to a 104-97 overtime win. Illinois eventually got its first Big Ten victory 13 days later, beginning a stretch in which it went 4-6 to wrap up the regular season, punctuated by Sunday's 75-62 win at Rutgers.
The Hawkeyes are hoping Sunday's 77-70 triumph over Northwestern - snapping a six-game losing streak - can provide a late spark for a team that has struggled recently in postseason play. Iowa has failed to win a game in the conference tournament four straight seasons and is 2-7 in the Big Ten tournament overall under eighth-year coach Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes are yielding 78.5 points per game - the highest mark allowed by the program since surrendering 81.7 points in 1993-94.
BETTING STATS:

BETTING ACTION AND LINE MOVEMENT:
Illinois opened as 1-point favorites over their rivals from Iowa and as of Tuesday night that opening figure has yet to move. The total hit betting boards at 160.5 and has also been stable.
MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:
* Fighting Illini are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
* Hawkeyes are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win.
* Under is 7-1 in Fighting Illini's last 8 neutral site games.
* Over is 16-5 in Hawkeyes' last 21 overall.
* Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (-2.5, 133.5)
When Minnesota routed Rutgers in the Big Ten opener for both teams in early December, coach Richard Pitino's squad appeared quite capable of living up to the hype it had generated as a dark-horse candidate to win the conference. The 11th-seeded Golden Gophers haven't come close to matching their early form since, but they will try to keep their season alive Wednesday when they meet the 14th-seeded Scarlet Knights in the first round of the Big Ten tournament at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Minnesota improved to 8-1 on the season following its 89-67 victory over Rutgers on Dec. 3 and were 10 games over .500 exactly one month later before its season took a turn for the worst once the calendar flipped to January, as the team lost Amir Coffey for most of the year to a shoulder injury and suspended senior center Reggie Lynch amid allegations of sexual misconduct. The Gophers are only 2-13 since their 13-3 start and have been largely uncompetitive in most of those contests, losing nine of them by double figures. Jordan Murphy's 352 rebounds are a single-season program record.
Rutgers hasn't been much better over the last 15 games, losing by at least 10 points nine times while going 3-12. Corey Sanders (14.3 points) is the only Scarlet Knight who ranks inside the top 35 players in scoring for the conference's lowest-scoring offense (64.5 points) and the junior guard enters Wednesday eighth in school history in assists (319), 11th in steals (134) and 17th in points (1,296).
BETTING STATS:

BETTING ACTION AND LINE MOVEMENT:
Minnesota opened as 2.5-point favorites over their Rutgers and as of Tuesday night that opening figure has yet to move. The total hit betting boards at 133.5 and has also been stable.
MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:
* Scarlet Knights are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
* Golden Gophers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. Big Ten.
* Over is 5-2 in Scarlet Knights' last 7 games following a straight up loss.
* Under is 4-1 in Golden Gophers' last 5 overall.
* Favorite is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
Jordan Murphy has been a rare bright spot for Minnesota as the junior forward is the only Gopher to start every game while leading the team in scoring (17.0 points).
The First Round of the Big Ten Tournament gets underway in New York City and if any of the teams involved in Wednesday's opening round hope to go dancing, it will take a miracle run to a conference tournament title.
Tournament to be played at Madison Square Garden, New York, New York.
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (+1, 160.5)
Illinois dropped its first eight Big Ten games to tie a dubious school record, and perhaps none of those defeats stung quite as much as the one it suffered last month against Iowa. The 13th-seeded Fighting Illini will seek some payback Wednesday when they meet the 12th-seeded Hawkeyes in the first round of the Big Ten tournament at New York's Madison Square Garden in a rematch of the highest-scoring game in the league this season.
Four of Illinois' first six conference losses came by one point, were decided in overtime or both, although the Illini appeared to be on the verge of getting their first league win on Jan. 11 before Iowa managed to produce the second-largest comeback in school history, overcoming an early 20-point deficit en route to a 104-97 overtime win. Illinois eventually got its first Big Ten victory 13 days later, beginning a stretch in which it went 4-6 to wrap up the regular season, punctuated by Sunday's 75-62 win at Rutgers.
The Hawkeyes are hoping Sunday's 77-70 triumph over Northwestern - snapping a six-game losing streak - can provide a late spark for a team that has struggled recently in postseason play. Iowa has failed to win a game in the conference tournament four straight seasons and is 2-7 in the Big Ten tournament overall under eighth-year coach Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes are yielding 78.5 points per game - the highest mark allowed by the program since surrendering 81.7 points in 1993-94.
BETTING STATS:

BETTING ACTION AND LINE MOVEMENT:
Illinois opened as 1-point favorites over their rivals from Iowa and as of Tuesday night that opening figure has yet to move. The total hit betting boards at 160.5 and has also been stable.
MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:
* Fighting Illini are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
* Hawkeyes are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win.
* Under is 7-1 in Fighting Illini's last 8 neutral site games.
* Over is 16-5 in Hawkeyes' last 21 overall.
* Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (-2.5, 133.5)
When Minnesota routed Rutgers in the Big Ten opener for both teams in early December, coach Richard Pitino's squad appeared quite capable of living up to the hype it had generated as a dark-horse candidate to win the conference. The 11th-seeded Golden Gophers haven't come close to matching their early form since, but they will try to keep their season alive Wednesday when they meet the 14th-seeded Scarlet Knights in the first round of the Big Ten tournament at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Minnesota improved to 8-1 on the season following its 89-67 victory over Rutgers on Dec. 3 and were 10 games over .500 exactly one month later before its season took a turn for the worst once the calendar flipped to January, as the team lost Amir Coffey for most of the year to a shoulder injury and suspended senior center Reggie Lynch amid allegations of sexual misconduct. The Gophers are only 2-13 since their 13-3 start and have been largely uncompetitive in most of those contests, losing nine of them by double figures. Jordan Murphy's 352 rebounds are a single-season program record.
Rutgers hasn't been much better over the last 15 games, losing by at least 10 points nine times while going 3-12. Corey Sanders (14.3 points) is the only Scarlet Knight who ranks inside the top 35 players in scoring for the conference's lowest-scoring offense (64.5 points) and the junior guard enters Wednesday eighth in school history in assists (319), 11th in steals (134) and 17th in points (1,296).
BETTING STATS:

BETTING ACTION AND LINE MOVEMENT:
Minnesota opened as 2.5-point favorites over their Rutgers and as of Tuesday night that opening figure has yet to move. The total hit betting boards at 133.5 and has also been stable.
MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:
* Scarlet Knights are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
* Golden Gophers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. Big Ten.
* Over is 5-2 in Scarlet Knights' last 7 games following a straight up loss.
* Under is 4-1 in Golden Gophers' last 5 overall.
* Favorite is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

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