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Big Ten Tournament Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday (3/15)

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The Big Ten semifinal matchups are set, after all four quarterfinal games were decided by double digits yesterday. The first game features the red-hot Michigan State Spartans and the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers made 19 three-pointers yesterday. Will they have similar success today? The second game of the day pits the Michigan Wolverines against the Maryland Terrapins. Who has the advantage in that contest?

Here are the best Big 10 Tournament picks for March 15.

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    Saturday's Best Big Ten Tournament College Basketball Bets

    Wisconsin vs. Michigan State

    Yesterday, the Oregon Ducks played about as well as they could for 25 minutes before the Spartans pulled away for a relatively easy victory in the final 15. The Spartans have won eight in a row, and six of those victories have been over ranked opponents.

    Meanwhile, the Badgers put together one of the greatest shooting performances in Big Ten history in their quarterfinal win over the UCLA Bruins. They tied the Big Ten tournament single-game record with 19 three-pointers as they dominated the Bruins. Their leading scorer, John Tonje, made six threes and scored 26 points.

    There is no denying how impressive yesterday's performance was for the Badgers, but they're running into arguably the best team in the country today. The Spartans have been dominating solid opponents for a month, and they're only giving up 6.6 three-pointers per game. The Badgers will need another perfect shooting day to pull this upset, and even if they shoot lights out, the Spartans’ offense has been so good this season that they will be able to keep pace against a mediocre defense. Don't be swayed by one great shooting performance. This is the Spartans’ game to lose.

    The Pick: Michigan State -3 (-110)

    I'm also going to make a play on the total for this game. When these two teams met on March 2, the Spartans defeated the Badgers 71-62. It was a low-scoring game by both teams' standards, as they're both averaging over 78 points per game. Oddsmakers are expecting a higher scoring game this time around, as the total is set at 144.5. With the three-point spread in mind, that total suggests a score of 74-71.

    It would be hard for the Badgers to shoot any better than they did yesterday, but I still like them to at least hit the mid-60s in this game. If they do, then the Spartans will do the rest. They're averaging 78.3 points per game, and while they've gone Under that total in three of their last five, they did put up 91 just over one week ago.

    The Pick: Over 144.5 (-110)

    Michigan vs. Maryland

    The second game is another one that features two of the Big Ten's highest-scoring teams. The Terrapins are averaging 81.7 points per game this season, and they just dropped 88 on the Illinois Fighting Illini last night. Meanwhile, the Wolverines are averaging 78.8 points per contest, and they scored 86 last night. Because both of these teams won in blowout fashion yesterday, I don't expect either to suffer from fatigue today.

    These two teams played on March 5 in Ann Arbor, with the Terrapins leading for the majority of the game on their way to a 71-65 victory. The Wolverines shot better from the field in that game, but they turned the ball over 16 times, double the amount of times the Terrapins coughed it up.

    That game will certainly weigh heavily on bettors' minds, but both teams shot very poorly from the floor in that game and still weren’t that far off this total. While both these defenses can shut down opponents, more often than not, the offenses are on display when they take the court. After what I saw yesterday, it's clear that both of these offenses are clicking right now. I expect them both to put up big numbers, with both teams getting into the high-70s or 80s in a tightly contested game.

    The Pick: Over 149.5 (-110)

    Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.

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