2019 Big Ten Tournament bracket finalized

You think? You may be right but I never saw it that way.

Getting hot and winning 3 or 4 games in a row seems more likely to happen then to go a 20 game stretch with a top record in conference play.

I would say the regular season title means much more; curious to hear what others say.

This feels like recency-bias for UM fans (not Sly in particular). The '14 BTT where State beat us really didnā€™t have me upset at all, because I took comfort that we were demonstrably the best team throughout the regular season.

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Does Tillman still get 30 MPG when Ward comes back? Do you think Ward just comes off the bench in a limited role when he returns? His strengths and Tillmanā€™s strengths are different and MSU needs to play differently to highlight each guyā€™s strength. I just donā€™t think it will be a completely smooth transition. This is a different team than it was when Ward first was injured. Tillman needs as many minutes as he can handle. Ward eats into that. I also donā€™t think Ward will be thrilled if he gets Kithier type minutes.

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Izzo is still the guy that benched JJJ so he could play Ben Carter in the NCAA Tournament, so Iā€™m not banking on Tillman getting the same minutes if Ward is available. He may well, but itā€™s not a foregone conclusion.

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Iā€™m seeing Rutgers +2 against Nebraska and Illinois -2 against Illinois for tonightā€™s first round games.

Am I taking crazy pills or do both of those lines seem like very good bets. Nebraska showed some life against Iowa, but I donā€™t know how Illinois doesnā€™t blow out Northwestern with Vic Law out.

Illinois -2 against Illinois seems like a tough line. On the one hand, you canā€™t lose that bet, but on the other hand you canā€™t win it either. Not a lot of upside there.

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I like Illinois -2 for sure if Law is out. Iā€™d probably pick Rutgers to win but not confident enough to bet it

Quite likely Tim Miles will be coaching his last game at Nebraska this evening.

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I think you guys are making great points. If Izzo over-plays a healthy Ward instead of Tillman and if it results in being to MSUā€™s detriment, then it is going to be 100% on Izzo. I am crossing my fingers Izzo hurts his teams chances in this way partially because even as big of a hater as I am, I must admit Izzo has done a very good job this year. He still has time to blow it though. We call him Mr. March for a reason :slight_smile:

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And I think it might well cover MSU against Indiana, unfortunately.

Rutgers is favored against Nebraska using BartTorvikā€™s H-Rank (adjusted effeciency in last 10 games). Illinois would also probably be a 4-5 point favorite using H-Rank.

So, give me Rutgers Moneyline and Illinois -2

To be fair to Nebraska, this is going to be the same team make-up that beat Iowa. That said, I canā€™t imagine being in a scenario where Johnny Trueblood is looking at 15-20 minutes of runtime in the first round of the BTT is what Tim Miles was hoping for at the start of the season.

Illinois was a bit of a darling for a couple weeks but has lost 5 of 6. Northwestern has some seniors who are staring at the end of their careers. Northwestern canā€™t score but does a good job of not turning the ball over. Is Law actually out? Iā€™m not sure that Illinois is such a sure thing.

Here are my picksā€¦ where did I go wrong?

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Agree with all of theseā€¦Except Iā€™ll go with PSU making the final and losing to Wisconsin.

Dylan, why are you suddenly a Purdue believer after downplaying them all year? Or, are you no longer as high on Michigan?

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I picked Michigan to beat Purdue?

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In the final

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Sorry, I misread it.