The Michigan Wolverines and the Northwestern Wildcats meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston. Here’s a Northwestern vs Michigan prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Northwestern vs Michigan pick.
Michigan Wolverines Betting Preview
This year Michigan has been on a pretty great run. To start the season, the Wolverines took victories in 14 straight games before their first loss to Wisconsin on January 10. After that came victories over Washington, Oregon, Indiana, Ohio State, Nebraska and Michigan State in the next six, then a win over Penn State last week. In the first 22 games that would make for a 21-1 overall record in the books.
In the Sunday matchup versus Ohio State, the Wolverines were in control at halftime on a 44-34 advantage. Michigan didn’t let up in the second half and hit a 38-27 run the rest of the way in an 82-61 victory. Topping the scorers was Aday Mara with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists. Yaxel Lendeborg doubled up on 14 points and 14 rebounds, as did More Johnson with 11 points and 12 rebounds in the victory on the road.
Northwestern Wildcats Betting Preview
Over on the Northwestern side, they opened up the season on a four-game win streak, then lost to Virginia before another win over South Carolina. Afterward came a tough 3-9 run over the next 12 games. The only victories came versus Jackson State, Valparaiso and Howard. a 2-3 run came in the next five with wins over USC and Penn State alongside losses to UCLA, Washington and Illinois.
Matched up against Iowa on Sunday the Wildcats weren’t looking too bad at the break, sitting in the locker room with a 39-35 deficit. Northwestern didn’t end up getting any closer than that, hitting a 37-35 run the rest of the way in a loss on the road 76-70. Nick Martinelli put up 21 points with four rebounds while Jake West added 18 points with four assists in 35 minutes of work on the floor during the losing effort.
Why the Northwestern Wildcats will win
- Northwestern has won 22 of its last 26 night games at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
- The home team has won the first half in four of Northwestern’s last five games.
Why the Michigan Wolverines will win
- Michigan has won each of its last 18 night games.
- Northwestern has lost each of its last 11 games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Northwestern has lost the first half in each of its last nine games against Top 5 AP-ranked opponents.
Northwestern vs Michigan Prediction
I’ll probably just stick with Michigan. The Wolverines are coming off a nice road win over rival Ohio State last weekend, hitting 45.8 percent from the field and 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from 3-point range alongside a 42-26 rebounding advantage and a 42-20 edge on points in the paint. Michigan held the Buckeyes to just 36.4 percent shooting on the other side and had just seven turnovers along the way. That gives the Wolverines eight straight wins, and they’ve scored 74 or more points in all of those—with 81 or more points in six of them.
As for Northwestern, they couldn’t quite keep pace with Iowa on Sunday thanks to a 29-19 rebounding deficit and a 36-20 disadvantage on points in the paint. The Wildcats shot pretty well, though (46.7 percent), and had just nine turnovers. Northwestern has lost three straight games, and they’ve given up 71 or more points in five straight (a 1-4 run). They’re going to have their hands full against Michigan on Wednesday—even at home.