Michigan State basketball<\/a> opens up action in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday as they\u2019ll take on 9-seed Minnesota<\/a>. The Spartans, who are the 8-seed in the tournament, limped into the tournament losing four of their last five games. MSU finished the season with a very disappointing 18-13 record as well as a 10-10 mark in Big Ten play.<\/p>\n However, even with all of these bad things I just mentioned, the Spartans are still one of the favorites to win the tournament.<\/p>\n Michigan State is given +1000 odds to win the Big Ten Tournament this weekend. This is fourth-best out of all the teams, behind Purdue (+100), Illinois (+300), and Nebraska (+700). Are you as surprised by this as I am?<\/p>\n To be fair to Michigan State, we do know the potential this team has. We saw it against teams like Baylor, Illinois, and even Purdue. However, they are too inconsistent for me to want to bet on them to win this tournament.<\/p>\n However, one thing in MSU\u2019s favor is that the Big Ten is below average this year. The only teams that would scare me even a little to play are Purdue and Illinois. Unfortunately for the Spartans, if they beat Minnesota on Thursday they will have to play Purdue on Friday. However, maybe that\u2019s why Michigan State\u2019s odds are so high.<\/p>\n If MSU can get by the Gophers and Purdue, it might just have a cakewalk the rest of the way. Obviously if the Spartans beat Purdue, they are playing some really good basketball, so does any other potential opponent scare you at that point? MSU could then play Northwestern, Wisconsin, or Maryland in the semifinals, all games the Spartans would likely be favored in. Then Illinois could be their opponent in the title game, which MSU has already beat once. And who knows, maybe the Illini lose before getting there.<\/p>\nMSU has fourth best odds to win the Big Ten Tournament<\/h3>\n