It is a Wednesday Big Ten battle as Wisconsin faces Michigan. It is time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Wisconsin-Michigan prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Wisconsin enters the game sitting at 16-6 on the year while sitting 8-3 in the Big Ten. That is good for second in the league, just 1.5 games behind Purdue for first. Still, Wisconsin is coming in off back-to-back losses in conference play. First, they played on the road at Nebraska, where thye would fall by eight. Wisconsin had a 17-point lead at the half, but Nebraska made a comeback and would win. 80-72. Last time out, they faced Purdue. While the game was tied with under ten minutes to go in the first half, Purdue would take over from there. Wisconsin kept it close, but would not tie the game again, as Purdue won 75-69.
Meanwhile, Michigan is 7-15 on the year, and just 2-9 in conference play. Since beating Ohio State by eight, Michigan has struggled. They have lost five straight games, and they have lost by ten or more points in each one of them. One of those was last time out facing Rutgers. Michigan held the lead almost all game, but Rutgers went on a 14-0 run last in the second half, to not only tie the game but take the lead. They would go on to win the game 69-59.
Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Wisconsin-Michigan Odds
Wisconsin: -5.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -230
Michigan: +5.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +188
Over: 143.5 (-110)
Under: 143.5 (-110)
How to Watch Wisconsin vs. Michigan
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
TV: Big Ten Network
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why Wisconsin Will Cover The Spread/Win
Wisconsin is ranked 13th in KenPom's adjusted effects rankings this year. They are ninth in adjusted offensive efficiency this year while sitting 33rd in adjusted defensive efficiency. Wisconsin is 116th in points per game this year, but they are 65th in effective field goal percentage this year. AJ Storr leads the team on offense. He has 16.4 points per game this year while also shooting 43.9 percent on the year. Steven Crowl is second on the team in points with 11.6 points per game this year, shooting 56.0 percent from the field this year. Meanwhile, Tyler Wahl is shooting 57.3 percent on the year, with 11.2 points per game.
Wisconsin is 224th in total rebounds this year, but ninth in the nation in defensive rebounding rate this year. They are also third in the nation in opponent rebounds per game this year. Crowl and Wahl lead the way here. Crowl comes in with 7.6 rebounds per game while Wahl has 5.6 rebounds per game this season. Further, three other players have three or more rebounds per game this year.
Wisconsin is 62nd in the nation in opponent points per game this year. Chucky Hepburn comes in with 2.1 steals per game this year, while Max Klesmit and Tyler Wahl both have .9 steals per game. The biggest thing that helps this defense is the lack of turnovers from Wisconsin. They have just 9.9 turnovers per game this year, 33rd in the nation this year.
Why Michigan Will Cover The Spread/Win
Michigan is currently ranked 101st in KenPoms adjusted efficiency rankings this year. They are ranked 56th in adjusted offensive efficiency while sitting 187th in adjusted defensive efficiency this year. Michigan is 71st in the nation in points per game and 62nd in the nation in effective field goal percentage. Dug McDaniel leads the way this year on offense. He comes in with 16.8 points per game on the year, while also leading the team in assists with 4.9 per game. Second on the team is Olivier Nkahmhoua. He comes in with 15.9 points per game this year while shooting 52.0 percent from the field. Further, Terrance Williams II comes in with 12.5 points per game on the year.
Michigan is 104th in the nation in rebounds per game this year. They are 291st in the nation in defensive rebounding rate this year. Nkahmhoua also leads the way here. He comes into the game with 7.0 rebounds per game this year. Also solid in rebounding is Tarris Reed Jr. He has 7.0 rebounds per game while scoring 8.5 points per game this year.
Michigan is 324th in opponent points per game while sitting 224th in opponent effective field goal percentage. Harris Reed has been solid here with 1.5 blocks per game, while Nimari Burnett has .9 steals per game. The major issue for this team is turnovers. They force just 9.8 turnovers per game, which is 335th in the nation. Still, they turn over the ball 12.6 times per game, which is 239th in the nation this year.
Final Wisconsin-Michigan Prediction & Pick
Michigan has struggled heavily this year. Not only do they have just one win in conference play, but they also have covered the spread just twice in conference play as well. Further, thye have missed covering the spread by ten or more points in four of their last five games. Still, while Wisconsin is better than in just about every facet of the game than Michigan, they also are not covering. They have failed to cover the spread in five of their last six games as well. Still, the best play in this game is on the total. With Michigan keeping this close, take the over.
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Final Wisconsin-Michigan Prediction & Pick: Over 143.5 (-110)
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