Back Wisconsin To Keep Michigan Down

Wisconsin vs. Michigan, 7:00 ET

Conference play is always one of the more interesting stretches of college basketball. The Big 10 has a ton of solid programs, even if the success of the schools in the tournament is rather limited. What I enjoy is that we see teams face each other a couple of times and get rivalry games. While some of these schools are more well-known for football than basketball, I still think these teams are enjoyable to watch. Specifically, we get Wisconsin, currently ranked 11th in the nation, and Michigan a team with a famous coach but is underperforming. 

Wisconsin comes into this game at 16-6 and 8-3 in Big 10 play. They have dropped their past two games though. The first game, they lost, on the road, to Nebraska. I was slightly surprised by this loss as they fell in overtime 80-72. Was it a spot they were looking ahead or was the road game just too much for them to deal with? Their other loss was against Purdue, currently ranked #2 in the nation. They fell by six points on their home court but still played a good, competitive game. Their other Big 10 loss was to Penn State, also a road game. Maybe this is just a spot they tend to struggle in. The other losses they experienced were against Tennessee, a very talented team. Then they lost to Providence and Arizona. Their wins are not overly impressive, but they have beaten Virginia and Marquette, which both were ranked at the time. They are one of the better Big 10 teams and have handled business against the likes of Indiana and Michigan State as well. This is the first time facing Michigan this season and the way they can win this game is through feeding Tyler Wahl, their star forward. AJ Storr is a solid enough scorer as well and will be difficult for the Wolverines to deal with. 

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 12: Head Basketball Coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines talk with press after a college basketball game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Crisler Arena on February 12, 2022 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Ohio State Buckeyes won the game 68-57 over the Michigan Wolverines. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

When Michigan hired head coach Juwan Howard, I have to imagine they thought they'd be getting better results than what we are seeing from them this year. Sure they've lost some of their better players to the transfer portal, but you'd think that players would want to come play for Howard, not leave him. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bash the guy. I actually like him, and I do think eventually the program will improve, but right now this is not a good look for them. They are really struggling currently as they've dropped 10 of their past 11 games. Their only win was a game over Ohio State on their home court. They have lost all of their past five games, one was against Illinois, one was against Purdue - okay, I understand those losses. Then they lost to Iowa and at Michigan State. Dropping their last game to Rutgers was a bit confounding. Dug McDaniel is their leading scorer and he will probably cancel out Storr's scoring. The forwards for Michigan might be able to deal with the ones from Wisconsin, but frankly, Wisconsin is a better team. 

This is a terrible stretch of basketball from Michigan but I think the books expect the Wolverines to keep this one close or pull off an upset. The line is only -5.5 in favor of Wisconsin. Michigan hasn't lost a game by fewer than 10 points in the past five games. I think Wisconsin, even playing a little poorly right now should correct themselves in this game and hand Michigan another loss and will cover the spread. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024