College basketball picks: Northwestern-Michigan prediction, odds, spread for January 15

We have Big Ten action on a Sunday afternoon as the Northwestern Wildcats hit the road to meet the Michigan Wolverines at noon ET. The game will take place at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI, and will air on the Big Ten Network.

Let's take a look at the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook and make some picks.

Northwestern vs. Michigan odds

Spread: Michigan -4.5
Over/Under: 135.5
Moneyline: Michigan -165, Northwestern +140

Northwestern (12-4, 3-2 Big Ten) stumbled at home this past week, falling to Rutgers in a close 65-62 affair on Wednesday. Scarlet Knights guard Cam Spencer was deadly from downtown with six threes in this tight matchup, one of them coming with 15 seconds to pull Rutgers ahead late. Boo Buie had a solid game for the Wildcats, coming away with 13 points and seven assists in the loss.

Michigan (9-7, 3-2 Big Ten) is on a two-game slide heading into this matchup and were bested by Iowa in a 93-84 overtime loss on Thursday. The Wolverines seemingly had the game in hand before making a grievous error with 20 seconds left as Kobe Bufkin fouled Payton Sandfort as he made a clutch three. Sandfort completed the four-point play at the line to tie the game and send it into OT. In overtime, the Hawkeyes stormed out on an 8-0 run to open the extra period and that proved too much to overcome for the Wolverines. Jett Howard led Michigan with 34 points in the loss.

The Pick: Michigan -4.5

I'll tip the advantage to the Wolverines at home here as they've now had an entire weekend to stew on giving away Thursday's game against Iowa. Northwestern's calling card has been on the defensive end and it has made up for a poor shooting offense on the other end of the floor. There's an opening for Michigan to really take advantage of its opponents inefficient offense and could potentially establish a comfortable margin if it executes during its possessions. Give me the Maize and Blue to cover.

  
Read Full Article