Things are heating up on the Michigan sports betting front as online betting is set to launch in the immediate future. This will give everyone in the state a chance to make wagers on their favorite teams across plenty of sports leagues. Launch comes at a great time in the sports world, with several professional leagues just getting started and football still playing out their postseason. One bright spot has to be the play of the Michigan basketball team, which has established themselves as a legitimate national title contender. They have a huge matchup Friday night with Purdue, which could go a long way to deciding the winner of the Big Ten. Michigan is a 2.5-point favorite, and the game has an over/under of 138 points.
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Michigan Sports Betting: College Basketball Picks
Michigan vs. Purdue
Best Bet: Under 138
The 12-1 Wolverines have been on the short list of the most impressive teams to start this college basketball season. They are an incredibly balanced squad that looks like they have what it takes to make a deep run come March. After being blown out in Minnesota last week, the Wolverines responded with a 24-point victory in their last game against Maryland. Michigan sits atop the Big Ten standings at 7-1, but several teams are lurking right behind them, including their opponent here, Purdue.
Michigan relies on a balanced attack, with six players averaging more than 8 points and three players in double figures. They sit among the top 10 in the country in both offensive and defensive efficiency per Kenpom; that is going to be an issue for basically any opponent. With their 3-point volume, the one concern has to be what happens if Michigan goes cold from behind the arc. Their 6-for-22 performance against Minnesota was one of the major reasons they were unable to stay in that game. This isn’t to say they lack other options, but this team does rely on the outside shooting to get the job done. As a slight favorite on the road against a quality Purdue team, they will have to shoot at a reasonable clip to win.
On the other side is Purdue, sitting at 11-5 on the season and 6-3 in the conference. If they have any hope of getting in the mix to win this league, they have to find a way to hold serve at home. The good news for the Boilermakers is that they’ve found their form, winning four straight, including road games at Michigan State and Ohio State. They are led by Trevion Williams, who is averaging 15 points, while a pair of guards also come in averaging north of 10 per game. Considering Purdue has played three of its last four games on the road, their home court is probably a welcome sight with the seventh-ranked team coming in to face them.
This figures to be a back-and-forth game, but the total has some value; I believe this will be a grind-it-out, low-scoring affair. Michigan is holding opponents to just 66.3 points per game, which is second best in the conference, and neither team looks to push the tempo. With both squads limiting the transition buckets, I think this game will be played in the halfcourt, which should be enough for this game to stay under the 138 total.
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