Dec. 29 Big Ten Basketball Predictions: Michigan vs. Penn State

A last-second put-back by Iowa's Matt Gatens was the only thing that kept Purdue from becoming the sixth straight favorite to cover the spread since the start of Big Ten play.

Instead, Iowa cut the lead from five to three with a fraction of a second left and dealt a crushing defeat to bettors who put their stock in the Boilermakers.

Good news for me, though, since I had pegged Purdue to win straight up and Iowa to cover with 4.5 points. 

I'm now 6-0 straight up, although I lost my first game against the spread last night when Northwestern failed to cover the 16.5 points Vegas was giving them. They didn't even come close.

Man, the Buckeyes looked impressive, though. Anyone who follows Seth Davis on Twitter sees the abuse he gets for refusing to rank Syracuse over Ohio State on his AP ballot, but it's hard to blame him when you see them systematically destroy a good team like Northwestern.

As for Indiana-Michigan State, the Spartans made me sweat it out for a while, but I think it's clear the better team won.

Here's a stat to chew on: Indiana went on a 25-2 run over a 10-minute stretch that ran from the end of the first half into the beginning of the second half. This means in the other 30 minutes of game-time, Michigan State outscored the Hoosiers 78-40. 

Last Night

Against the Spread: 2-1-0

Straight Up: 3-0

For the Season

Against the Spread: 5-1-0

Straight Up: 6-0

No. 18 Michigan vs. Penn State, 7:30 PM (-13)

Last season, Taylor Battle was able to will Penn State to the promised land that is the NCAA Tournament. But, since their former superstar's departure, they have unceremoniously crashed back to earth.

Coming into conference play with an 8-5 record and losses to Lafayette and Duquesne, the Nittany Lions are expected to be one of the conference's bottom feeders, lurking a significant ways below its deep upper-tier.

Michigan, on the other hand, is enjoying another fine season under the tutelage of John Beilein.

The loss of Manny Harris was supposed to cripple the Wolverines, but freshman guard Trey Burke has risen to the occasion in his place and given them steady, creative play from the point.

Tim Hardaway Jr. looks ready to become a go-to scorer, while Zack Novak and Evan Smotrycz haven't forgotten how to stroke it from behind the arc.

Michigan isn't exactly built to blow anybody out, and Penn State is sure to come out fired up and scrappy, but the cream should rise to the top by game's end.

If this wasn't the first game of conference play and Michigan was on the road, it could be a potential trap-game, but alas, it is not.

Against the Spread: Michigan -13

Straight Up: Michigan