The Ohio State Buckeyes have navigated the Big Ten Conference extremely well, vaulting to the top of the standings while jumping to a top-10 ranking nationally. But a loss last time out has hurt them, and now the Buckeyes are looking to keep the other contenders at bay but will face a tough test when they hit the road this week to face off against rival the Michigan Wolverines.
Ohio State has the superior record and has been better in conference play, but the Wolverines get the luxury of the home court advantage and looked impressive in a recent win over Wisconsin. Michigan may actually be a slight favorite in this game playing at home, and a loss by Ohio State would make the Big Ten standings a jumbled mess down the stretch.
At 1 p.m. ET, tune into CBS for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Sunday, February 18, 2018, at the Crisler Center.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Sunday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Ohio State is 22-6 straight up and 14-12 against the spread. The Buckeyes have done really well this season on the road, covering in five of their six attempts. Ohio State has been the underdog in five games this season, covering in three of them,
Michigan is 20-7 straight up and 15-10-1 against the spread. The Wolverines have gone 7-5-1 against the spread at home this season. Michigan is 11-8-1 against the spread as the favorite.
Last Meeting
The first time these two teams met this season back in December, Ohio State overcame a double-digit deficit and put together a strong second-half performance on its way to a 71-62 victory. The Buckeyes trailed by as many as 20 in the first half, but outscored the Wolverines 40-19 in the second half to secure the victory.
Michigan was up 59-53 with just under five minutes to go before Ohio State ignited on a 15-3 run to close it out. The Wolverines got hot from behind-the-arc in the first half, but cooled off significantly coming out of the locker room in the second and shooting just 17.2 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.
Moritz Wagner finished with a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds for Michigan in the loss. Keita Bates-Diop had 18 points and nine rebounds for Ohio State and C.J. Jackson added 17 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Key Stat
13. That’s how many wins Ohio State has against Big Ten opponents heading into this week’s games. The Buckeyes’ two losses in conference play came against Penn State on January 25th and the Nittany Lions again last time out.
Ohio State is tied atop the Big Ten conference standings right now with Michigan State. The Buckeyes defeated the Spartans 80-64 on January 7th and also captured a 64-63 win over No. 3 Purdue last week.
The Buckeyes will be looking to bounce back after a rough loss last time out to Penn State and needs to get back on track to avoid falling in the conference standings.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
Ohio State is a good team but has been able to pull out a lot of close games in conference play, including the first one between these teams this season. Look for a bit of a course correction in this one as the Michigan Wolverines are the choice to pick up the victory.
Wagner is playing at a high level and Michigan should be able to put together a pair of strong halves this time around. While the Buckeyes are solid, they aren’t as good as Michigan State or Purdue and will eventually get overtaken by one of them in the conference standings, and a loss here won’t help matters.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: Michigan 78, Ohio State 74
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