Two bitter Big Ten rivals square off on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET when the Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-13, 5-12) visit the ninth-ranked Michigan Wolverines (24-4, 13-4) at the Crisler Center. The Wolverines are 24-1 in their last 25 home games, with their lone loss coming at the hands of their bitter in-state rival Michigan State on Sunday. Meanwhile, Nebraska fell just short of beating No. 14 Purdue on its home court on Saturday, losing 75-72. Despite their strong performance against the Boilermakers, the Cornhuskers enter Thursday's Big Ten battle as an 11.5-point underdog in the latest Michigan vs. Nebraska odds. The over-under, or total points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 130.5. Before you make any Michigan vs. Nebraska picks and college basketball predictions, you'll want to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned nearly $4,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 17 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 107-79 run on against the spread picks. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now it's locked in on Nebraska vs. Michigan. We can tell you it's leaning over, but it's also locked in a confident against the spread pick that hits in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see that one at SportsLine.
The model has taken into account Michigan's talent edge over the Cornhuskers, who have lost nine of their last 11 games while going just 1-5 against-the-spread in their last six away games. Michigan sits just one game behind Purdue and Michigan State in the Big Ten conference standings thanks largely to Ignas Brazdeikis' stellar season.
The 6-foot-7 freshman is averaging 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in his first season in Ann Arbor. Brazdeikis' dominance has enabled Charles Matthews (12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds) to take on a more active role in the Wolverines' offense. Plus, the Wolverines have dominated this series as of late, winning nine of their last 10 meetings and covering six of their last eight home games against the Cornhuskers.
But just because the Wolverines are playing well doesn't mean they'll cover the Michigan vs. Nebraska spread on Thursday.
Despite losing nine of their last 11, the Cornhuskers have an explosive playmaker that can take over a game. Senior guard James Palmer Jr. poses an extremely difficult matchup for opposing defenders and enters Thursday's matchup averaging 18.9 points per game. He's an offensive mismatch who has been unstoppable away from home, averaging over 21 points in his last four road games.
Who wins Michigan vs. Nebraska? And which side of the spread cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Nebraska vs. Michigan spread you should be all over, all from the model that has returned more than $4,000 to $100 players the last two years.