The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2008 is like Adrienne Barbeau: quite top heavy. The Wisconsin Badgers, Purdue Boilermakers, Indiana Hoosiers, and Michigan State Spartans are all nationally ranked and likely going the Big Dance.

For sports handicappers who believe in betting the motivational factor, the Ohio State Buckeyes are one of the “last four in” according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology.

The sportsbooks  say that Purdue is the slight favorite to win it all at 7/4, with Wisconsin nearly neck and neck at 7/4. Michigan State is only 7/2. If anyone has had almost as much success in March Madness as GodsTips, anchor of OffshoreInsiders.com, it is Tom Izzo, head coach of the Spartans.

Despite all the distractions of the Kelvin Sampson firing, the Indiana Hoosiers are just 5/1 to earn the automatic bid. Purdue and Indiana have the shorter odds as the tournament is being hosted at Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will have to play their way in to the 2008 Men’s College Basketball Tournament, but they are 14/1 odds to win it all—the conference title that is.

Once highly regarded Illinois is 20/1, the Iowa Hawkeyes at 22/1. Surprisingly ahead of both is perennial doormat Penn State at just 18/1.  At 25/1 Michigan is given little chance and Northwestern at 100/1 no chance. Odds are courtesy of NewBodog.

Considering the Wildcats went 1- 17 in conference play, perhaps the bookmakers are being too generous.

The author, Joe Duffy, is former General Manager of the Freescoreboard scorephone network and CEO of OffshoreInsiders.com, the premier hub of world-class handicappers.