The 7-seed Toledo Rockets (27-7) face the 3-seed Michigan Wolverines (17-15) Tuesday in the 1st round of the National Invitational Tournament. Tip from Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Toledo vs. Michigan odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Toledo came up short as the top-seed in the Mid-American Conference' Tournament, and failed to secure its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1980.
Still, the Rockets are on a 17-1 SU roll since Jan. 10, while covering 6 of the last 7 games. This is a prolific offense, rolling up 85.7 PPG in the regular season (2nd in the nation). Toledo was also No. 2 in 3-pointer percentage (40.5%), while checking in No. 5 in field-goal percentage (49.6%). Defensively, Toledo was a train wreck, yielding 76.1 PPG, and it was even worse in the MAC tourney with 81.0 PPG allowed in 3 outings.
Michigan limped to the finish line of the regular season with 2 straight OT losses to Indiana and Illinois, and it needed a strong showing in the Big Ten Conference tourney. It didn’t get it, getting bounced 62-50 in the 1st game by Rutgers. That snapped a 5-0 ATS run, while the Under result halted a 3-0 Over streak.