The Michigan Wolverines have made the NCAA Tournament in five of the last six seasons and are looking to return to the Big Dance once again. They have a difficult non-conference schedule that will test them, but if they can register some key wins that would give the Wolverines a big boost when it comes to their resume. Michigan’s first big game will come this week in historic Madison Square Garden when the Wolverines take on the Marquette Golden Eagles.
At 9:30 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Thursday, November 17, 2016, at Madison Square Garden.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Michigan is 2-0 SU with wins over Howard and Indiana-Purdue in the early going, but 0-1 ATS after failing to cover the 17.5-point spread against Indiana-Purdue. That game finished just one point north of the total.
The Golden Eagles are 2-0 SU and 2-0 ATS on the season and that includes a blowout win over Vanderbilt in their season opener. This is Steve Wojciechowski’s third season and he has yet to make the NCAA Tournament. He needs to get there in order to stave off speculation about his job status.
Key Stat
Marquette has been one of the most efficient teams from the floor this season. The Golden Eagles are shooting almost 52 percent from the field through two games and that has led to plenty of points. This team is now averaging 88 points per game.
Even more impressively, all of Marquette’s starters are in double-digits in scoring and four of the five are shooting better than 52 percent from the floor. That increased productiveness from the starters was a big part of the team’s huge out-of-conference win over Vanderbilt and will be put to the test against a Michigan side that is allowing just 61.5 PPG in the early going.
Player to Watch
Derrick Walton Jr. leads a veteran Michigan squad that makes up for what it lacks in talent with experience. He’s averaged double-digits as a scorer since he was a sophomore and also stuffs the stat sheet in terms of rebounds and assists. Last season, he averaged 11.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 4.5 APG for Michigan and he is the team’s leading scorer through two games.
Walton is a solid three-point shooter. He hit 38.7 percent of his treys in 2015-16 and is currently knocking down 50 percent of his attempts through two games. The uptick in percentage is particularly impressive since he is averaging two more three-point attempts than he did last season.
As solid as Walton is at shooting threes, he struggles from inside the arc. Over the last three seasons, he is shooting a worse percentage on two-point attempts than three-point attempts and has issues creating his own shot. That can also be seen in his turnover rate, which is much higher than normal for a typical guard.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Marquette has been playing team basketball through the first two games of the season. The Golden Eagles have averaged 22 assists per game as a team in the early going and have gotten everyone in on the action. All 11 players that have seen time on the floor have tallied at least one assist and that selfless basketball is going to be a benefit against a team like Michigan.
D.J. Wilson is being asked to be the main man in the middle for the Wolverines this year. He has 11 RPG and 3 blocks a game through the first two games and has been a presence in the paint thus far. The Wolverines lacked that presence last season as no one on the team averaged more than 5.4 RPG.
Take the Golden Eagles here. They have looked much more impressive than the Wolverines at the start of the season and have already beaten a quality opponent.
College Basketball Odds: Marquette 79, Michigan 73
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