There have been some important games in the Big Ten, but those were all appetizers for the schedule this weekend.
Its pretender or contender weekend in the Big Ten where three games will lead to greater clarity in the conference race.
The battle in Madison for the Heartland Trophy between Iowa and Wisconsin is the top game in the Big Ten West. Then there are a pair of contests in the Big Ten East that will begin round robin battle between Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, and Michigan State.
This weekend it begins when Penn State travels to Columbus to face the Buckeyes. Also on tap is the in-state tussle between Michigan and Michigan State in East Lansing.
The other piece of good news is that after several schools being on bye weeks the last two weeks, the Big Ten will be back to a full slate of games.
A reminder, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to go to https://www.circasports.com/iowa-app and start placing your bets on the games if you are in the state of Iowa. Thanks to the great folks at Circa Sports for their support!
Let’s look back at last week.
We were 4-1 straight up, 3-2 against the spread, and 2-3 when it comes to the over/under.
Overall this season
STRAIGHT UP: 52-12
AGAINST THE SPREAD: 34-30
OVER/UNDER: 36-28
MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE
The Wolverines are 4.5 point favorites with an over/under of 50.5
Michigan has covered the spread in six of seven games and they have gone under in four of their seven games, but they have gone over in two of the last three. Michigan State has covered the spread in six of seven contests. They have gone under the total in four of their last five games. MICHIGAN STATE 23 MICHIGAN 20
INDIANA AT MARYLAND
The Terps are 4.5 point favorites with an over/under of 50.5
Indiana has failed to cover the spread in six of their seven games this season. They have gone over the total in four of seven games. Maryland has failed to cover the spread in four of their last five contests. They have gone under in four of their seven contests. MARYLAND 35 INDIANA 27
RUTGERS AT ILLINOIS
The Scarlet Knights are 1.5 point favorites with an over/under of 42
Rutgers has failed to cover in their last three games. They have also gone under the total in three of their last four contests. The Illini have covered the spread in five of their eight games, including four of their last five. They have gone under the total in seven of their eight games this season. RUTGERS 17 ILLINOIS 14
MINNESOTA AT NORTHWESTERN
The Gophers are 8 point favorites with an over/under of 43.5
Minnesota has covered the spread in five of their seven games, including their last three contests. They have gone under in four of their last five games. Northwestern has failed to cover in five of their seven games. They have also gone under in three of their last four contests. MINNESOTA 23 NORTHWESTERN 20
PURDUE AT NEBRASKA
The Cornhuskers are 7.5 point favorites with an over/under of 50
Purdue has failed to cover the spread in four of their last five games. They went under the total in their first six games of the season before going over last week. Nebraska is 5-3 against the spread this season, but failed to cover in their last two games. They are 4-4 against the total, but they have gone over in their last three games. NEBRASKA 24 PURDUE 20
PENN STATE AT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are 18.5 point favorites with an over/under of 60
Penn State is 4-3 against the spread, but just 1-3 in the last four games. They have gone under the total in five of their seven games this season. Ohio State has covered the spread in each of their last four games. They have gone over the total in four of their last five contests. OHIO STATE 38 PENN STATE 17
IOWA AT WISCONSIN
The Badgers are 3.5 point favorites with an over/under of 36.5
Iowa is 6-1 against the spread with the only loss in their last game. They have gone under in five of seven games. Wisconsin is 4-3 against the spread and they have covered two of their last three games. They have also gone under in four of the seven games. PICK COMING ON FRIDAY MORNING
