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Bovada, a popular Las Vegas sportsbook, released its odds for the Big Ten Championship today, giving Northwestern 16/1 odds to win the conference in 2017. According to the bookmakers, Northwestern is the tied with Nebraska as the fifth-most likely team to win the conference, ahead of Iowa at 20/1 and Minnesota at 33/1. Ohio State leads the pack at 5/6.
Here is a full list of Big Ten odds:
B1G odds via @BovadaLV: OSU 5-6; UW 15-4; Mich, PSU 11-2; Neb, NW 16-1; Iowa 20-1; MN 33-1; MSU 50-1; Ind, Md 100-1; Ill, PU 200-1; RU 500-1
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 14, 2017
Northwestern returns one of the better quarterback and running back duos in the conference, a strong defensive core, and has a very workable schedule for 2017. The oddsmakers are clearly not sleeping on the Wildcats to be well within in the top half of the conference this season. Last year, Northwestern was given 33/1 odds to win the Big Ten at the beginning of the season.
Northwestern’s line for total regular season wins is currently at 8 wins. If the Wildcats at least get to 8, that would already be a two-win improvement over last season. The odds for the Wildcats to win the National Championship currently stand at 300/1. Coincidentally, the odds for Northwestern men’s basketball to win the NCAA Tournament in 2018 are exactly half at 150/1.