College Basketball Betting – Michigan Wolverines at Wisconsin Badgers

There will be no love lost when Big Ten rivals Michigan Wolverines and Wisconsin Badgers hook up for a Valentine’s Day tilt in Madison. The Wolverines haven’t played since beating Purdue on January 22 having four games postponed since due to COVID. If they don’t play another game they may end up being the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Over the last several weeks UM climbed from No. 7 to No. 3 without taking the floor. They will be tested by a group of Badgers who’ve won 11 of 13 on their home floor.  Bookmaker.eu offers a generous welcome bonus (max bonus $1600).

Michigan Wolverines at Wisconsin Badgers
Date and Time: Sunday, February 14, 2021, 1 p.m. ET
Location: Kohl Center, Madison, WI
Opening College Basketball Odds: (Live Odds Here)
Michigan at Wisconsin TV Coverage: CBS

Odds Analysis

The Michigan program was shut down for a few weeks following a COVID outbreak and the team just recently returned to practice. They will be well-rested since it’s been nearly a month since their last game, and that’s assuming this one actually gets played. About two weeks before the Wolverines went on hiatus they knocked off Bucky, 77-54, covering the 2.5-point spread. The only blemish on their record is a 75-57 setback to Minnesota. UM has also been a good bet with payouts in two straight games and in seven of their last eight contests. Overall they are 13-1 SU and 11-3 ATS. The Badgers are looking for a better result this time around. Since opening the season with eight wins in nine games they are 7-5 SU and 6-6 ATS. They’ve alternated wins and losses over their last seven games picking up a payout win over Nebraska last time out.

Michigan Wolverines

We don’t know how the Wolverines are going to play and we don’t know who is going to play. Heck we don’t even know if they are going to play. But we do know they were pretty damn good before getting struck by the virus and the Big Ten’s safety protocols. A long delay and just their fifth true road game could be problematic for the Wolverines. The break interrupted a run that saw UM win two straight convincingly after their only setback.

One thing about Michigan that’s made them so successful is their diverse roster and the willingness of coach Juwan Howard to mix things up. After losing to Minnesota the team responded with a 24-point win over Maryland. All the more impressive since leading scorer Hunter Dickinson was held to three points. Isaiah Livers scored 20 points in 29 minutes, one of four double-digit scorers as they shot 52 percent from the floor.

The teams met in Ann Arbor in the middle of last month with the Wolverines putting on a clinic. They held the Badgers scoreless over the last six minutes of the first half and used a 36-3 scoring spurt spanning halftime that turned a close game between top-10 combatants into a rout. It got so bad that players who rarely see the floor were out for extended minutes.

Wisconsin Badgers

At least Wisconsin will have the advantage of playing games over the last three weeks. That will give them an edge in conditioning. The Badgers are 3-3 in games played since Michigan went on hiatus. It has spoiled the nice run they had to open the year when Bucky went 8-1 and climbed to No. 6 in the national rankings. All losses are bad and the Badgers had a couple doozies to Maryland and Penn State. Somehow Bucky is still among the top-25, probably because their three other losses since the opening nine-game stretch were to solid top-15 teams.

Sloppy play and poor shooting are reasons why the Badgers haven’t been able to sustain their early season success. They kept Nebraska winless in Big Ten play with a 61-48 win on Wednesday despite shooting just 32.3 percent from the field. It was Wisconsin’s second lowest percentage of the season and the ninth time in the last 10 games they finished below 45 percent.

“It’s crucial to get any win. This league isn’t easy regardless of the record of anybody or who it is. There are no easy games. You take them one at a time and take a deep breath and exhale when you get out of somewhere on the road or at home,” Greg Gard said. Thankfully the Badgers play great defense and value the basketball, which has allowed them to win games when the offense falters.

Bet Michigan at Wisconsin at BookMaker.eu

What concerns me about this game is Michigan’s lengthy break in the middle of the season. Teams are accustomed to playing a few games a week and the Badgers have the edge in that area. I can’t imagine Michigan playing at the top of their game, at least not in the beginning. It would behoove Wisconsin to come out aggressively. If they can knock down a few shots I can see the Badgers getting the upset.

College Basketball Score Prediction: Wisconsin 66, Michigan 63

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com