GAME: #651 Michigan vs #652 Illinois
TIME: 12/11/2019 – 9:00p EST
SPREAD: Illinois -2
TOTAL: 143.5
SPORTSBOOK: 5Dimes Sportsbook
The (8-1) #5 Michigan Wolverines head to Champaign, Illinois to face the (6-3) Illinois Fighting Illini. Michigan beat Iowa 103-91 at home on Friday while Illinois lost to Maryland on the road by a score of 59-58 in a game they should have won. Last season, Michigan beat Illinois 79-69 at Illinois.
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
The Michigan Wolverines are averaging 80 points per game while shooting 50% from the field and 39% from 3 averaging nine 3-pointers per game. On defense, Michigan is allowing 67 points per game along with 41% field goal shooting from their opponents. Michigan defense is forcing 11 turnovers per game while adding 5 steals and 5 blocks per contest.
The Wolverines are led by seniors Jon Teske and Zavier Simpson. Teske is averaging 14.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while Simpson is accounting for 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 8.7 assists per contest.
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
The Illinois Fighting Illini are averaging 83 points per game while shooting 50% from the field and 32% from 3-point. The Fighting Illini are allowing 68 points per game and 41% field goal shooting while forcing 13 turnovers per game and adding 6 steals and 2 blocks on defense. The Illinois offense is struggling with turnovers averaging 15.6 per contest
The Fighting Illini have been led by Kofi Cockburn and Andres Feliz, who are averaging 15.4 and 14.3 points.
MATCHUP SUMMARY
The Fighting Illini are playing pretty good basketball right now but so are the Wolverines. Illinois is coming off a tough loss at Maryland and will be hungry for a win here but Wolverines are still hungry after their loss at Louisville. This is a big game for Illinois as they need to win this do not fall back any further in the Big Ten. Illinois is going to put up a fight and they have a chance to win this game. There is another factor to this game which is that a non-ranked team is favored over a ranked team. The non-ranked team being Illinois in this case, often wins these types of matchups. All signs are pointing to Illinois in this matchup but sometimes when everything is pointing to 1 team, the other team is the pick. Michigan is without a doubt the better team of the 2. Keep an eye on the line movements. If Illinois moves past -2 take them but if the line goes back to Michigan being favored, they will be the pick.
TRENDS
MICHIGAN
- Wolverines are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 Wednesday games.
- Wolverines are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
ILLINOIS
- Over is 9-2 in Fighting Illini last 11 games following an ATS win.
BETTING ANGLES:
Data Analysis: Michigan +2 / Over 143.5
Fade the Public: Illinois -2 / no data
Sharp Action: no data / no data
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Michigan vs Illinois prediction pick College Basketball