Saturday's college basketball slate tips off with a Big Ten battle between Michigan and Wisconsin at noon ET. The No. 2 Wolverines (17-0, 6-0) are off to their best start in program history and will look to make it 18 in a row with a victory at the Kohl Center on Saturday. Meanwhile, Wisconsin will look to get back to its winning ways after losing its last two games by a combined eight points. The latest Michigan vs. Wisconsin odds have the Wolverines favored by 3.5 points, with the over-under, or total points Vegas thinks will be scored, at 128. Before you make any Michigan vs. Wisconsin 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 over $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. And it enters Week 11 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a strong 22-8 run on all of its top-rated picks. Anybody who has followed it is way up.
Now it's locked in on Michigan vs. Wisconsin. We can tell you it's leaning over, but it's also locked in a confident against the spread pick that hits in over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see that one at SportsLine.
The model knows the Wolverines enter Saturday's game as the hottest team in the nation. Michigan has jumped out to its first ever 17-0 start thanks to its stingy defense. The Wolverines currently rank third in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just 56.6 points per game.
On offense, Michigan features three players averaging over 13 points per game. The Wolverines are a team loaded with upperclassmen like senior guard Charles Matthews, who's averaging 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, but its freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis who has been filling the stat sheet as of late. In fact, Brazdeikis has scored 15 or more points in four of his last six outings and he'll look to provide a spark again on Saturday against the Badgers.
But just because the Wolverines have been red-hot to start the season doesn't mean they can cover this Michigan vs. Wisconsin spread.
For the Badgers to pull off the upset against Michigan, they'll need a big game from senior forward Ethan Happ. The 6'10" senior leads the team in points (19.4), rebounds (10.4) and assists (4.6), and he's coming off an impressive performance against Purdue last week that saw him record 31 points and 13 rebounds. Happ's big-bodied frame allows him to back down defenders inside the paint and get the shot he covets. In fact, he's shooting a remarkable 57 percent from the field this season.
The Badgers have also had major success against Michigan at home. John Beilein has won at the Kohl Center just twice since taking over at Michigan in 2007. Plus, Wisconsin boasts a remarkable 5-2 record at home against AP Top-5 teams.
So which side of the Michigan vs. Wisconsin spread hits in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Michigan vs. Wisconsin spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed college hoops, and find out.
