Two B1G head coaches have named to the Naismith Coach of the Year Watch List. A total of 15 candidates were included in the late-season release.

Illinois’ Brad Underwood and Wisconsin’s Greg Gard are the two names from the B1G to make the watch list. Both head coaches have their teams firmly in the race for a B1G regular season title with only a few weeks remaining.

Both the Fighting Illini and Badgers lost significant pieces from last year’s successful squads. For them to have a shot at a conference championship this season is incredibly impressive.

Illinois and Wisconsin are both 11-4 heading into the weekend. They are .5 game behind Purdue for first place, as the Boilermakers are sitting at 12-4.

Here are the remaining schedules for both Illinois and Wisconsin:

Illinois Fighting Illini

Feb. 19: at #19 Michigan State

Feb. 24: #18 Ohio State

Feb. 27: at Michigan

March 3: Penn State

March 6: Iowa

Sports Betting in Big Ten Country

There is big news coming to the upcoming 2022-23 Big Ten football season (and NFL season). Ohio online sports betting and Maryland sports betting are on the way.

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Wisconsin Badgers

Feb. 20: Michigan

Feb. 23: at Minnesota

Feb. 26: at Rutgers

March 1: #5 Purdue

March 6: Nebraska

Here’s a look at all 15 coaches who were named to the watch list:

Tommy Lloyd, Arizona

Bruce Pearl, Auburn

Scott Drew, Baylor

Bob McKillop, Davidson

Mark Few, Gonzaga

Kelvin Sampson, Houston

Brad Underwood, Illinois

John Calipari, Kentucky

Shaka Smart, Marquette

Matt McMahon, Murray State

Ed Cooley, Providence

Mark Adams, Texas Tech

Steve Forbes, Wake Forest

Greg Gard, Wiscosnin

Jeff Linder, Wyoming