Michigan vs Central Michigan 12/29/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Central Michigan Chippewas (4-8) vs. Michigan Wolverines (7-4)
December 29, 2022 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Michigan Wolverines -21.5 / Central Michigan Chippewas +21.5;Over/Under: +147.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Central Michigan Chippewas and the Michigan Wolverines meet in college basketball action from the Crisler Center on Thursday night.
The Central Michigan Chippewas will be out to bounce back from a 76-65 loss to Youngstown State in their last game. Brian Taylor leads the Chippewas in scoring and rebounding with 14.6 PPG and 6.2 RPG while Jesse Zarzuela has 13.8 PPG with a team-high 3 APG to lead the Chippewas in the assist department up to this point in the year. Reggie Bass has 10.3 PPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for CMU this season. As a team, Central Michigan is averaging 69.5 PPG on 42.9% shooting from the field, 29.5% from three and 71.1% from the foul line this season.
The Michigan Wolverines will be out to bounce back from an 80-76 loss to North Carolina in their last game. Hunter Dickinson leads the Wolverines in scoring and rebounding with 18.2 PPG and 8.4 RPG while Jett Howard has 15.6 PPG aand Kobe Bufkin’s also chipping in 12.4 PPG with 3.6 RPG and 2.6 to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Michigan so far this season. Dug McDaniel also has a team-high 2.9 APG to lead the Wolverines in the assist department this season. As a team, Michigan is averaging 77.3 PPG on 45.7% shooting from the field, 36% from three and 66.8% from the foul line this season.
Central Michigan is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following an ATS loss and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 games overall. Michigan is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a losing record and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games against a team with a winning percentage below .400 while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games overall.
I get the case to be made for either side in this game, but I’m backing the Chippewas here. It’s not a game I’m rushing to bet, but the Wolverines have had a tendency of letting lesser teams hang around in these big favorite spots they’ve been in time and time again this year. I don’t expect Central Michigan to win here but I think they can keep it semi-respectable. Give me the Chippewas and the points here.
