The Michigan Wolverines are hosting the Indiana Hoosiers tonight in Big Ten College Basketball action. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the betting odds for the game have Michigan listed as the favorites to pick up the conference win at home.
Indiana is tied with Iowa with 8-1 records atop the Big Ten standings. Both Maryland and Michigan have just two conference losses and tonight’s contest certainly is a big one for both the Hoosiers and Wolverines.
A Michigan win would give Iowa sole possession of first place in the conference for the time being. The Wolverines are just fine with that and won’t be caught looking ahead to the showdown with Michigan State on Saturday.
Indiana has played nobody to this point in the season, the Hoosiers only Top 50 RPI win came over Notre Dame on a neural floor and they only have four Top 100 wins this season. The Hoosiers have yet to play a team in the Top 25 of the RPI.
Michigan is a little bit different. John Beilein’s team is 2-3 against Top 25 RPI teams, owning wins over Texas and Maryland. Three tough road defeats to SMU, Purdue and Iowa have made Michigan better.
Only Xavier has won inside the Crisler Center this season when playing Michigan, the Wolverines are 10-1 in their own building. Yogi Ferrell and the Hoosiers will want to play at a fast pace, but Michigan can play that way as well.
Caris LeVert still won’t be playing for Michigan in this one, but the Wolverines have gotten into a nice groove with their best player recovering from a foot injury. LeVert hasn’t played since the turn of the calendar, missing eight games total. Michigan is 6-2 in that stretch with losses at Purdue and at Iowa.
Derrick Walton Jr., Zak Irvin and Duncan Robinson have all stepped up in his absence. Indiana comes in as a very strong offensive club, they rank 20th in efficiency. Michigan has done well for itself as well, ranking 12th in that category.
Michigan’s problem has been on the defensive end, where they have given up too many points in the paint. Indiana is a much better rebounding team compared to the Wolverines, but Michigan has rebounded well in big games.
At Crisler Center, the Michigan team just plays better.
Free Pick: Michigan
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