The Big Ten has a lot of great teams this year with two of them tipping off on Saturday evening in Ann Arbor with the conferences’ top team, the No.2 Michigan Wolverines, playing host to another top-25 team in the No.21 Indiana Hoosiers.
Looking to remain undefeated and near the top of the AP rankings, Michigan has already beaten a number of ranked opponents including UNC and Villanova on the year thanks to a phenomenal defense. The Wolverines will go into this game has sizable favorites as well, but can they get the win and cover the spread?
The Hoosiers have been a bit underrated to this point with only a couple losses. They’re not quite as strong as Michigan, but can everything fall into place for the Hoosiers on Saturday to enable them to get the upset?
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Indiana Hoosier vs. Michigan Wolverines
Date and Time: Sunday, January 6, 2019, 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Hoosier vs. Wolverines Tide TV Coverage: CBS
The Wolverines rank second in the AP for a reason, this team is good. The Coaches Poll and KenPom ratings are both a bit lower on Michigan, but each have the program amongst the top-5 in the nation.
Michigan’s defense is fantastic. It’s third at 87.6 according to KenPom’s adjusted defensive metric and has already held teams like UNC to 67 points and Villanova to just 46 this year. In fact, nobody has scored more than 78 in a game and the team’s allowed more than 67 on just a single occasion.
Offensively, the Wolverines aren’t running up the point totals like some teams, but this team can still shoot the basketball well enough.
With one of the best seven-man rotations in the country, Michigan has enough top-end talent to keep an elite team on the floor throughout the entire game without fatigue playing too much of a role.
Inside, Ignas Brazdeikis is great. The freshman forward leads the team with 16.5 PPG while offering 5.1 RPG. He’s a good shooter inside and can nab a bucket or two from the perimeter, too, making him that much more impactful.
Iggy’s rebounds are limited more by opportunity than anything else. Charles Matthews and Jon Teske also represent strong rebounding options.
Teske joins Brazdeikis inside the paint. The 7’1” center is quite a presence under the basket and creates plenty of matchup issues inside for opponents trying to get to the hoop.
Matthews leads the way in the backcourt. He’s got 13.9 PPG while also representing great defensive options. Both he and Zavier Simpson can strip the ball from the opposition with some key steals. Meanwhile, Jordan Poole is a great shot on the outside, sinking 50-percent from beyond the arc. He’s one of three players, along with Brazdeikis and Matthews, to score at least 13.5 per contest.
Completing the epic seven-man rotation is forward Isaiah Livers who is a good outside shot in his own right, but also provides good production on the glass in his time on the court.
On the other side of this matchup, the Hoosiers boast an 11-2 as of Thursday with a six-game winning streak.
Romeo Langford has really helped this team round into shape this year. The freshman guard is one of the top first year players in the country with 32.9 minutes per contest. He’s got 17.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.6 APG and more than a block per game despite a 6’6” frame.
Langford is strong contributor in all facets of the game and has been a model of consistency. He’s not a great shot on the outside, but can sink a deep shot now and again. Overall, though, he’s shooting 50.3-percent from the floor.
Aljami Durham and Rob Phinisee are both good options on the outside. Devonte Green is another strong backcourt option who has played very well in back-to-back games with a combined 32 points in those two games.
Inside, Juwan Morgan is king. Between Morgan and Langford, Indiana has a pair of superstars who work well together. Morgan has 16.2 PPG and 7.6 boards. He’s also a contributor on assists and notching 1.5 BPG.
Just like the backcourt is Langford and a collection or roll players. The frontcourt is Morgan with some roll players in Justin Smith, Evan Fitzner and De’Ron Davis. All in all, it’s basically two superstars running the show in Indiana.
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Offense to offense, the Hoosiers can hold their own with Michigan. They’re an excellent shooting team which could help them against a tough defense like the Wolverines. Michigan will limit their chances, but Indiana is shooting 52.9-percent from the floor and 37-percent from the perimeter through 13 games. If they can nab a few offensive rebounds and spread the court enough to open up a few shots, the Hoosiers just may have a chance.
Watch to see what Indiana can do against this defense early. Michigan will undoubtedly focus on Langford and Morgan so the Hoosiers will need others to step up. They have enough players averaging between five and nine points per contest that the depth is there.
Heading into tip-off an as the game progresses, remember BookMaker.eu is your spot for the latest odds and totals as well as a plethora of live betting opportunities.
Key Player
Morgan and Langford and legitimate stars and will be able to put up points, even against Michigan, but they will be the primary focus of the Wolverine defense and for good reason. As a result, somebody else will need to step up to keep the Michigan defense honest.
Green has had a couple very strong games back-to-back, but that wasn’t against much in the way of competition. Instead, look for Justin Smith to be the key. If Smith can have a big game, that’ll help bridge the gap in these two teams.
Smith will have trouble with the strong defensive front court for Michigan, but he’s coming off back-to-back double-digit scoring performance and has hit double digits in six of his 13 games. He’s 11-for-12 shooting in his last two games and 18-for-26 in his last four.
Hoosier vs. Wolverines Live Betting
Look for Langford to lead the way for Indiana has Morgan and Smith struggle a bit inside the paint against Brazdeikis and Teske who will have a noticeable size advantage to help shutdown the Indiana frontcourt.
Of course, Morgan will still get his points and Langford will do well, but the Michigan defense is too good for Indiana to get much going otherwise. Look for the Wolverines to hold the Hoosiers down. Meanwhile, count on a good showing form Matthews and Poole to find success against Indiana, eventually leading to a sizeable win at home for the Wolverines.
Be sure to check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Michigan 77, Indiana 61
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