The No. 20 Indiana Hoosiers have notched a 3-0 spread mark from their latest trio of games, with the under going 2-1. Tom Crean’s crew heads north for Wednesday’s matchup against the No. 22 Michigan Wolverines.
Sportsbooks opened Michigan as a 3.5-point favorite, while first setting the total at 137.5 on the
NCAA basketball odds board. Early betting steam on the Wolverines and ‘over’
lifted the spread to four and the
total to 138, respectively, while later wagers drove the digits south again.
Zeller, Hoosiers hold off IowaIndiana cruised in Sunday’s 103-89 win as an 11.5-point home favorite against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The high-octane duel saw the Hoosiers hit 55.2 percent of their field buckets, while connecting 25-of-31 free throws.
Hoosiers big man Cody Zeller piled in 26 points, while adding four rebounds and three steals. Indiana’s Verdell Jones led his squad’s bench with 14 points and nine assists, nearly pulling off his season’s first double-double.
The contest’s combined 192 points soared ‘over’ the total of 151, with the Hoosiers sizably outrebounding Iowa, 35-18. Indiana allowed the Hawkeyes to drain 8-of-15 shots from three-point land, while Hoosiers mates Will Sheehey and Derek Elston united to hit 4-of-4 beyond the arc.
Wolverines blown away in ColumbusMichigan logged its third loss in five games with Sunday’s 64-49 setback as a 14-point road dog against the
Ohio State Buckeyes. The Wolverines were held to 35.8 percent field shooting, while being outrebounded by Ohio State, 37-22.
Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway notched team-highs of 15 points and five rebounds. Hardaway’s mate Trey Burke finished with 13 points and five assists, draining 3-of-6 buckets from beyond the arc.
The battle’s combined 113 points dipped below the total of 127.5, brining the under to 6-1 in the Wolverines’ last seven games. Michigan’s Zack Novak was held scoreless in 33 minutes of action, while the team’s bench scarcely united for six points.
Back the ‘under’ in Ann ArborWednesday’s matchup is scheduled for an early tip of 6:30 p.m. (ET), with Big Ten Network providing the national television coverage.
This sports betting handicapper is backing the under in this contest, looking for softer shooting than last month’s affair between the Big Ten Conference rivals. Michigan has held visitors to 55.8 PPG at Crisler Arena, including a stingier 50 PPG in last month’s pair of duels against No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 9 Michigan State.
Indiana may have lit it up at home in Sunday’s win, but has mustered just 60.7 PPG in its last three road games. The under is 7-3 in the squad’s last 10 meetings that Michigan has hosted, with the Hoosiers held to 57 PPG in its last two trips to Ann Arbor.
Zeller is a top-five rebounder (6.1 RPG) in the Big Ten for Indiana, with the Hoosiers averaging a sizable 23.7 defensive RPG. Michigan’s duo of Jordan Morgan and Evan Smotrycz are not far behind Zeller, averaging 5.6 RPG between them.
Michigan has put up just 61.5 PPG in its last four home contests, with John Beilein’s squad needing overtime in January’s 66-64 win against Northwestern to hit that stretch’s scoring peak. Look for the Wolverines to try grinding out a win here at a slow tempo, cashing under tickets in the process.