Some major star power will take to the hardwood to kick things off on Friday afternoon when the Oklahoma State Cowboys and red hot Michigan Wolverines lock horns in the 7/10 pairing of the Midwest Region. John Beilein’s kids just parlayed a near catastrophic event into winning the Big Ten tournament and will hit the hardwood in Indy oozing with confidence. On the flipside, Brad Underwood’s squad will be looking to halt a three game losing streak to earn the program its first Big Dance win since 2009.
At 12:15 p.m. ET, tune into CBS for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Friday, March 17, 2017, at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every NCAA tournament game on Friday’s college basketball schedule.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Oklahoma State +2.5
Michigan -2.5
Over/Under 155.5
With Michigan coming from out of nowhere to cruise to the B1G tourney title, it comes as no surprise to see the betting public drinking as much maize and blue Kool-Aid as they can get. Big Blue opened up as modest 1.5 point favorites to beat the Cowboys, but that number is now long gone. It now sits at -2.5 with 73 percent of bettors riding the newly anointed Big Ten champs.
The Wolverines gave up an average of 64.5 points per game en route to the title. With that, the 155.5 point opening total has been bet down half a point to 155 with some outs posting it even lower. Only 58 percent of the written tickets are backing the under, so it’s possible some bigger money comes back in over the top to push it back up closer to tip-off.
Matchup to Watch
Both of these teams are heavily reliant upon the 3-ball to put points on the board. OK-State ranks No. 16 in the country in knocking down over 40 percent of its long range attempts. They average 9.0 makes per game and score 31.8 percent of their points from beyond the arc ( No. 137 ). Michigan drains 38.1 percent of its 3-balls, and averages 9.4 makes per game. Unlike the Cowboys, the Wolverines score a higher percentage of their points from long range ( 37.6% ). Neither of these defenses excel at locking down the perimeter, but Oklahoma State does do a bit better of a job in allowing a 35.8 percent success rate to Michigan’s 37.8 percent. Whichever defense forces more misses will likely own the leg up in this matchup.
Player to Watch
Jawun Evans – This kid has evolved into one of the better point guards in the country in just his second season playing collegiate ball. He’ll be by far the biggest scoring threat to take to the hardwood in this matchup, and the Cowboys are going to need him to have a magical game to get past the Wolverines. Minnesota’s Nate Mason and Illinois’ Tracy Abrams just logged 23 points each against Michigan’s defense in the B1G tourney. Jawun is eerily similar to each player in both stature and production. He’ll need to at the very least match if not surpass those efforts to lead the Cowpokes into the second round.
Free College Basketball ATS Pick
It was simply a marvel to see Michigan win its conference tournament with relative ease. And to think Purdue had them beat in the quarters had they hit their free throws to close the game. I’m not a believer. Michigan is way too dependent on the 3-ball for success evidenced by it being ranked No. 300 in points scored from two pointers.
Oklahoma State is a tad more balanced with Leyton Hammonds and Mitchell Solomon at the very least giving them a paint presence. Add into the mix Evans being the best player on the court, as well as Oklahoma State routinely playing against much tougher opposition in a better overall conference, and it all adds up to the Cowboys putting a damper on Ann Arbor’s hopes of a return to the Final Four.
College Basketball Odds: Oklahoma State 80, Michigan 78
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