The Indiana Hoosiers might have three wins in their four Big Ten road games this year, but they've really struggled to cover spreads away from Bloomington in general. In away games and neutral site games this year, they're just 2-7 ATS, something that they'll try to right on Tuesday in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines.
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HOW THE INDIANA HOOSIERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Hoosiers really have to get back to their offensive ways here against Michigan if they want to cover this spread. They haven't been good on the road all season long on the offensive end, and now, they've got to head to Ann Arbor without James Blackmon Jr.
Blackmon suffered a season-ending knee injury a couple weeks ago, and the results have been shoddy since that point. Against both Minnesota and Wisconsin, two of the lesser teams in the conference, the Hoosiers were kept out of the 80s. It's sad to think that IU needs to reach a number like that to cover a game, but the fact of the matter is that neither game was close to being covered, and the game against Wisconsin was lost.
We've been waiting for Colin Hartman or Max Bielfeldt to really step up and hit some outside shots, but it's clear that the loss of Blackmon for the season is going to hurt the Hoosiers the rest of the way.
HOW THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Indiana hasn't really adjusted well to life without one of its best players, but Michigan has managed to get the job done without Caris LeVert.
LeVert is out for at least another week with a leg injury, but Big Blue has certainly adapted.
Mark Donnal isn't nearly the same sort of distributor of the basketball that LeVert is, but Michigan has put together a big starting five with him on the court. He's posted three straight games with double-digits in scoring, and that parlayed with Derrick Walton averaging 15.4 points, 7.4 boards and 4.1 assists per game since LeVert was dinged up is what's really making the difference on this four-game winning streak.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Considering the fact that Indiana has been so iffy on the road and the fact that the Wolverines have been playing so well, you've got the makings for a mild upset to occur in Ann Arbor.
Our only concern here for the Wolverines is that they've been beaten and beaten soundly by both Iowa and Purdue in the two most comparable games on the docket. However, those games were both on the road, and the one time a top flight team came to Ann Arbor, Big Blue knocked off Maryland 70-67.
Michigan shoots 48.6 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc, and those numbers aren't slipping without LeVert on the floor. This will be a huge test for sure, especially knowing that the pace of this game is sure to be relatively high, but we trust the Michigan defense at home more than the Indiana offense on the road.
That'll be the difference on Tuesday night in what should be an entertaining matchup.
Michigan 78, Indiana 75
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The contest pitting the Indiana Hoosiers versus the Michigan Wolverines will commence Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 9:00 p.m. ET at the Crisler Center. See the game live on ESPN.
