The Indiana Hoosiers have lost their momentum over the past few weeks. They’ll try to get it back when they visit the Michigan Wolverines.
Indiana Hoosiers @ Michigan Wolverines – Wednesday, February 1
Sports betting line: No line
Why Indiana Will Win
When you do your homework and assess your best sportsbook on this game, you will be hard pressed to avoid the conclusion that the Michigan Wolverines are an endlessly confounding team. The Maize and Blue show glimpses of being a Sweet 16 team with a chance of being a real pest for a top-ranked foe in the NCAA Tournament at times. Michigan’s win over Michigan State earlier in the season offers a perfect case in point. However, coach John Beilein’s bunch then demonstrates that it is capable of great face-plants, flops and outright failures as well. The Wolverines lost on the road at Arkansas a week and a half ago, dropping a decision to a team with no chance at making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection. Michigan’s focus and energy level fluctuate from game to game, meaning that Indiana can certainly pick off the Wolverines if the timing’s right.
Another thing which works in Indiana’s favor is that Michigan is a small team. The Wolverines were pounded into submission by Ohio State’s size, length and power this past Sunday. Michigan could not finish any plays near the rim, and the Wolverines were rocked back by the brute strength of Ohio State big man Jared Sullinger, who controlled the paint with impunity. Indiana big man Cody Zeller isn’t as physical as Sullinger is, but his size and agility should still give Michigan problems. The Hoosiers certainly have the tools to be able to win this game.
Why Michigan Will Win
The college basketball betting experts who follow the Big Ten Conference for a living know that Indiana has undergone a markedly negative change in recent weeks. A few weeks ago, the Indiana Hoosiers were on track to get a very high seed for the NCAA Tournament. Coach Tom Creans club had defeated both Kentucky and Ohio State at home, and then beat Michigan for good measure. A team with three wins of that caliber surely looked like an outfit that was going to clean up against most of the rest of the Big Ten. Instead, the opposite has happened: Indiana has gotten its clock cleaned.
The Hoosiers lost at home to Minnesota, fell at Nebraska, dropped a revenge game at Ohio State (the one acceptable loss of the past few weeks), and then – this past week – lost at Wisconsin, yes, the same Wisconsin team that couldnt get out of its own way in the first two weeks of January. Indiana is now swimming in the middle of a crowded Big Ten, and it’s all because the Hoosiers can’t win away from home. They’re as horrible away from Assembly Hall as they are proficient inside it. This game will be played at Michigan’s Crisler Arena, so that in itself puts Indiana in deep trouble.
Who Will Win
It’s an Indiana road game, for one thing. Second, Michigan has become more cohesive in its offensive sets and its defensive tactics over the past few weeks, even though the Wolverines are small. Michigan will play a decidedly more effective game and grind down Indiana in the process.
College Basketball Betting Pick: Michigan