Should the No. 4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes take care of business in Happy Valley on Thursday night, they’ll return home for a pivotal clash with the No. 3 ranked Michigan Wolverines amidst a seven-game win streak with potentially six pointspread covers in tow. Whether that intimidates Juwan Howard’s troops remains to be seen, but that’s highly unlikely considering the team didn’t skip a beat in its impressive comeback win over the Wisconsin Badgers off a 3+ week hiatus from the hardwood. Regardless of how the lone regular season skirmish between these hated rivals plays out at online sportsbooks, both programs will earn first round byes in the upcoming B1G Tournament. Still, you know darn well each will be going all-out to win the game; especially after the Buckeyes swept the rivalry a season ago and Ohio State logging four straight wins and covers versus Michigan on its home hardwood.
Take this Big Ten matchup in live on CBS at 1 p.m. ET from Value City Arena on Sunday, February 21, 2021. BookMaker.eu will have NCAA basketball odds available for this and every game lined up for Sunday’s expansive college basketball schedule.
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Odds Analysis
Michigan just let it be known that it’s a major player. Not many teams have been able to bounce back from extended COVID layoffs this season, but that’s exactly what Isaiah Livers and the maize and blue just did in Madison to move to 4-1 SU and ATS when playing away from the comforts of Ann Arbor. The Wolverines will look to increase that win streak to four straight on Thursday night when it takes to the Crisler Center hardwood for the first time since January 19 to battle the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. No team has been hotter in the Big Ten than OSU dating back to early January. Chris Holtmann’s squad has amassed nine wins to just one loss since, and paid off at the window along the way by covering all but two of those contests. The Buckeyes have been nearly unbeatable at home in logging 11 wins through 12 games (7-4 ATS) with the lone defeat coming against the Purdue Boilermakers by a bucket.
Michigan Wolverines
The Pomeroy Ratings loves it some Michigan! The Wolverines currently rank out as the third best team in the country behind only the Baylor Bears and Gonzaga Bulldogs. Ranked amongst the top 10 in efficiency at both ends of the court, the team’s talent, athleticism and will to compete were on full display this past Sunday when it battled back from a 13 point second half deficit to get out of the Kohl Center with the impressive 67-59 outright win and cover as 1-point dogs. Livers didn’t skip a beat in converting half of his 16 shots for a game-high 20 points. The offense as a whole struggled from the field, but it only turned the ball over five times and outboarded the Badgers 32-25 with nine of those caroms being of the offensive variety.
Ohio State Buckeyes
After sweeping its road trip at Iowa and Maryland winning outright as 5-point dogs to the Hawkeyes and covering the 3-point road chalk against the Terps, many – including me – thought the Buckeyes were ripe to suffer a bit of a letdown its next time out at home against the Indiana Hoosiers. That prognostication hardly came to pass after E.J. Liddell helped lead OSU to the carefree win and cover as decided 7-point favorites. Five Buckeyes would go on to knock at least one 3-pointer down en route to the offense racking up 78 points on 48 percent shooting from the field. Justice Sueing also had himself a game in scoring 16 points and reeling in a game-high 10 rebounds to help his teammates win the battle of the boards (35-25).
Michigan vs. Ohio State Prediction
The Wolverines will likely be involved in another pick ‘em game when they invade CBUS on Sunday afternoon with the total lined in the low to mid 130s. Ohio State gets the scheduling advantage in this one. Both teams play on Thursday, but the Buckeyes get Penn State at home after taking on Indiana while Michigan will be forced to run up against a reinvigorated Rutgers squad a game removed from taking on a physical Badgers team. Michigan was able to survive its first test off an extended break simply due to Wisconsin’s offense going into the tank over the course of the game’s final 20 minutes. That isn’t likely to be the case against the Buckeyes who’ve averaged 78.8 points over their last 10 games. Should Ohio State snag a decided lead at any stage of the game, you can bet your bottom dollar it won’t start running a prevent offense much like Wiscy did to allow Michigan back in the game. I expect the Buckeyes to go for the jugular right from the outset and let its most hated rival know it won’t be putting an end to their current 4-0 SU and ATS streak hosting the recent rivalry.
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