Check out our free Michigan vs Northwestern pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Evanston. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Michigan vs Northwestern Pick & Preview: Thursday, February 2nd Betting Odds
Wolverines vs Wildcats Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Michigan Wolverines at Northwestern Wildcats
- Where: Evanston at Welsh-Ryan Arena
- Date: Thursday, February 2nd
- Betting Odds: Michigan +3.5, MICH +142 | NW -175 O/U 138.0
Wolverines Preview:
Through 21 games, the Michigan Wolverines have an overall record of 11-10. On the road, the Wolverines will be playing their 10th game of the season, having gone 3-7. So far, the Wolverines have been the underdog 8 times, going 0-8 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +3.5 underdogs on the spread.
Hunter Dickinson comes into today’s game as the Wolverines’ leading scorer at 17.67 points per contest. Not only has Dickinson been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Michigan’s top rebounder at 8.52 boards per contest. Behind Dickinson, the team has benefited from the strong play of Jett Howard, who is second on the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game. Overall, he has hit 44.0% of his shots and is adding 2.6 boards per game.
On offense, Michigan is scoring a rate similar to the NCAA average at 73.0 points per game. This figure has come despite struggling to knock down shots from outside. Through 21 games, they have only hit 34.0% of their 3-point field goal attempts. For the season, 32.33% of their shots have come from beyond the arc.
Wildcats Preview:
Northwestern will take the floor against the Wolverines with an overall record of 15-6. So far this season, Northwestern has played 15 games at home, sitting with a record of 11-4. The Wildcats’ are sitting with a betting line that is -3.5 points in their favor. For the season, Northwestern has been favored to win in 13 games, sitting with a mark of 12-1.
Northwestern’s leading scorer this season is Boo Buie, who is averaging 15.9 points per contest. So far, Buie has accounted for 22.77% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 3.43 rebounds per game and 4.33 assists. Chase Audige is the second leading scorer for the Wildcats, averaging 15.71 points per game. Between him and Audige, they are accounting for 45.3% of the team’s scoring.
On offense, Northwestern is scoring a rate similar to the NCAA average at 73.0 points per game. This figure has come despite struggling to knock down shots from outside. Through 21 games, they have only hit 34.7% of their 3-point field goal attempts. For the season, 38.69% of their shots have come from beyond the arc.
Free Spread Prediction: Michigan Wolverines +3.5
After boiling down all the statistics and trends, it is clear why the oddsmakers have placed the Northwestern Wildcats as the favorites to win. Not only do the Michigan Wolverines have a mediocre record vs the spread at away of late 4-6, but Northwestern also has the statistical edge in 3-pointers made per game and overall field goal percentage. Yet, our model shows that the current odds of -3.5 points in favor of the Wildcats is too high and there is good value on grabbing Michigan vs the spread. While most bettors will likely be piling on the Northwestern Wildcats as the favorite, we full good about taking the oppsite side and grabbing Michigan taking the points.
