College basketball heats up on Super Tuesday as the No. 22 Michigan Wolverines travel south to take on the Purdue Boilermakers in Big Ten action. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff and will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the odds have Purdue favored by 5 points across the board and the total is sitting at 129 points for this game. Both teams are coming off a loss on Saturday in very different situations.
Free Analysis: Michigan is one of four ranked teams on the road tonight but could be the one with the biggest chance to get taken down. Purdue and Michigan are two of the six Big Ten schools that are all within a game of each other at the top of the conference in what is turning out to be a great schedule. We're almost halfway through the conference season to date and no team yet has established itself as the one to beat in the Big Ten. Ohio State might have the most talent but even they have two losses this season. Michigan joins the Buckeyes and Michigan State all at 5-2 while Purdue joins Illinois at 4-3 in league play. Wisconsin is sandwiched in at 5-3. The 20th-ranked Wolverines again seek their first true road win of the season Tuesday night when they face the Boilermakers, winners of the last six meetings in West Lafayette. Michigan is playing their second straight road game after a 66-64 loss to Arkansas Saturday. They'll travel to Columbus on Sunday. John Beilein's team has obviously struggled on the road this season, dropping games to Arkansas, Virginia, Indiana and Iowa in "true" road games. That doesn't bode well for the team and what might be worse is their struggles playing the Boilers in Indiana. Michigan has been outscored by an average of 15.4 points in losing six straight at Purdue's Mackey Arena since a 78-67 victory Feb. 19, 2003. The Wolverines' leading scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. has definitely struggled finding his shot on the road, averaging 10.5 points and 28.6 percent from the floor. That's more than five points per game less than he averages. Michigan is also struggling defensively away from Ann Arbor, allowing an average of 71 points compared to less than 54 at home, where they haven't lost yet. Purdue has been on the right side of five of six in the series, although the Boilermakers were 16th or higher in the Top 25 during each of those meetings while the Wolverines were unranked. Things are a little different now as Purdue comes in unranked and coming off a 25-point beatdown at the hands of Michigan State on Saturday where they were marred by a snowstorm that saw the squad get into East Lansing a mere hours before tipoff. That probably explains why they were blown out, and there are also some numbers coinciding with that. The Spartans held Purdue to season lows of 29.0 percent from the field and 15.0 percent (3 of 20) from 3-point range. Tough to win at all when you play that bad, it's even worse when you play on the road.
Free Pick: I like Purdue to win this game, but I think Michigan can keep it close. They've dropped games on the road to Arkansas and Indiana by just two points in both games, where they've played well. On the other hand, they've also been blown out by Iowa and Virginia. Tough to determine what team will show up for the Wolverines, but it's widely known this team struggled to win games on the road. If Michigan plays to the level of their earlier contests against the Pigs and Hoosiers, it could be a close contest. But if history repeats itself in this rivalry, Purdue should be coming out on the winning end here. The total is also something we are looking at. It's moving now as this article is being posted, going down a full 1.5 points. The UNDER might be a valuable play in this contest.
Betting Strategies - College Basketball Home Court Value
Host Vegas Runner and Pregame Pro Bryan Leonard discuss that not all home courts created equal and every conference has different values.