The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines are the best team in the Big Ten – if not in the nation – and they will have what seems to be a gimme game this coming Saturday against a struggling Illinois Fighting Illini squad that’s growing desperate for a big win. Going into this Thursday night meeting, NCAA basketball futures price Michigan with +900 odds to win the Championship while Illinois is a highly unlikely year-end champ at +50,000. Read on for a preview of this Big Ten matchup below.
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Betting Preview for the Michigan Wolverines vs. Illinois Fighting Illini College Basketball Game on January 12, 2019
Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
When: Saturday, January 12, 2019, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Michigan Wolverines (odds) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Michigan Wolverines (15-0 Overall / 4-0 Conference)
The Wolverines remain undefeated in conference play after netting their fourth Big Ten win of the season with a 74-63 win in Ann Arbor over the No. 21 Indiana Hoosiers last Saturday. Michigan’s defense made it hard for the Hoosiers’ offense to breathe, as Indiana shot just 42.6 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from deep. Defense has been the Wolverines’ calling card to success this season. They are third in the nation with just 55.6 points allowed per game and 17th with opponents converting only 38.9 percent of their shots from the floor. It’s always a struggle for teams to put up points against Michigan, which should find it easier to defend the Fighting Illini, considering that team’s inefficient offense. Illinois is 10th in the conference with only 73.4 points per game and 12th with a poor 42.4 field goal shooting percentage.
Michigan is 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in its last five games away from Ann Arbor.
Betting on the Illinois Fighting Illini (4-11 Overall / 0-4 Conference)
The Fighting Illini continue to sink deeper in the Big Ten. They lost an opportunity to form some sort of momentum heading into a heavyweight matchup with Michigan by losing to the Northwestern Wildcats on the road last Saturday, 68-66. It was Illinois’ fourth loss in a row, and in that game, the team shot like its players all had broken fingers. The Fighting Illini, went 22-for-56 (39.3%) from deep and were a horrendous 0-for-11 from behind the arc. That’s not the kind of shooting performance that would boost the team’s morale ahead of a meeting with Michigan’s defense that puts opponents on a chokehold. They may struggle shooting the ball again, but there would be no excuse for them not to exert tremendous effort on defense. The Fighting Illini can hope to keep in step with Michigan if they could force timely turnovers. The Wolverines don’t commit many errors, but the Fighting Illini are third in the league with 7.8 steals per game. With four players averaging at least 1.1 steals per game, Illinois’ gang of ball-snatchers could throw off Michigan’s rhythm on offense.
Illinois is 4-7 straight up (SU) and 3-7 against the spread (ATS) at home this season, so far.
Writer’s Prediction
Michigan wins, 77-55.
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