College basketball picks: Best bets for Friday night's Ohio State vs. Michigan Big Ten showdown
The SportsLine Projection Model has its three plays for Friday's matchup as the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines host the Ohio State Buckeyes
The third-ranked Michigan Wolverines look to keep rolling Friday night when they host the Ohio State Buckeyes in a Big Ten rivalry game. The Wolverines (17-1) have been dominant at both ends most of the season and have won three straight by double digits since losing to Wisconsin 91-88 on Jan. 10. The Buckeyes (13-5) started 6-0 but have been up-and-down since. They are 7-5 since conference play began, including 5-3 in Big Ten games, although three of their losses have been to ranked teams. The Wolverines have a balanced attack with one of the nation's best frontcourts -- featuring Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara -- and a deadly transition game. OSU is led by its back-court duo of senior Bruce Thornton and talented sophomore John Mobley Jr.
Friday's game tips off at 8 p.m. ET at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wolverines are 15.5-point favorites in the Ohio State vs. Michigan odds at DraftKings. The over/under for total points scored is set at 165.5, while Michigan is a -1600 favorite and Ohio State is priced at +900 on the money line.
Before you place any college basketball bets on Michigan vs. Ohio State on Friday, make sure you check out the predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every game 10,000 times and enters Week 12 on a sizzling 10-1 run on its top-rated Over/Under college basketball picks dating back to last season. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at the top sportsbooks could have seen strong returns.
Bet on Ohio State vs. Michigan college basketball at DraftKings, where new users get $300 in bonus bets if their first bet wins:
Here are the model's best bets for Ohio State vs. Michigan for Friday night. Visit SportsLine to get even more college basketball picks from the SportsLine Projection Model and college hoops experts.
Ohio State vs. Michigan picks for Friday
Ohio State +15.5
The Buckeyes have a strong duo in Thornton and Mobley, and they won't go down quietly. The SportsLine model sees this one as closer to a 10-point game, with the Buckeyes covering in 67% of simulations. Thornton is the passionate team leader and averages 20.7 points and 1.3 steals, while Mobley scores 15.3 points per game and is an elite shooter. Both Thornton and Mobley make 41.4% of their attempts from 3-point range. The model projects four Buckeyes players to top 13 points, led by Thornton at 21.9.
Ohio State +900
The Wolverines are heavy favorites for a reason, but the model leans toward taking the Buckeyes with the huge payout. They have scored 168 points over their past two games, led by Mobley with 54 and Thornton with 43. Mobley has hit 11 of his 23 3-point attempts in the past two games and averages 2.9 made 3's per game, third-most in the Big Ten. OSU is 22nd in the nation in shooting percentage (49.8) and sixth in free-throw shooting (79%). Michigan's only loss came on its home floor two weeks ago.
Under 165.5
The Wolverines allow a fair amount of points, but opponents shoot just 36.2% from the field against them, second-lowest in the nation. However, they are 44th in the nation in 3-point defense (30.2%) and the Buckeyes are a strong shooting team that could exploit that Friday. They also could try to slow the game down and attempt to get the Michigan big men in foul trouble. And this being a huge rivalry across all sports, strong-willed players like Thornton will be going all-out on defense. The Under hits in 61.2% of the SportsLine model's simulations.
