Big Ten Basketball: Northwestern Routs Michigan Says Basketball Handicapper

Matt Rivers has another sports pick against the spread winner Tuesday on Northwestern (-6.5) hosting Michigan.

I really should start cutting and pasting my analysis on the Wildcats because I have been on them a ton this season and will have very similar thoughts today as in most of the past games and write-ups.

Northwestern is no longer the absolute mess of a team that they used to be. These guys are a top 25-type squad that is going to make the tournament this season—you can mark that down in pen. No doubt they had a couple of recent clunkers at Illinois and Purdue but those teams at home are borderline great and, all in all, John Shurna and the boys from Evanston are pretty darn solid these days.

The ‘Cats almost just won at the Breslin Center as they gave Michigan State all it could handle for the full 40 minutes in a pretty easy cover and are a well coached team with Bill Carmody running the show. Add in guys like Drew Crawford, Michael Thompson and Luka Mirkovic to help out Shurna and there is no reason why these guys won’t beat up a perennially bad road team in Michigan.

The Wolverines are not dreadful and did just take Kansas to overtime last week, but there is a huge difference between playing in Ann Arbor and going on the road, as we have seen game after game and year after year with this program. We saw these guys compete hard in tight losses at home to Kansas and Ohio State and then in that last game get embarrassed at Bloomington against what is still not a good Indiana squad. The maize and blue have now dropped four straight and five of six and not much positive should all of a sudden happen for them here against a good and underrated Wildcat team in their barn.

This is a double-digit victory for Northwestern in the range of 70-58.

Top expert pick on this game: Northwestern -6.5

For More Information 

 Matt Rivers says  it’s not the biggest or greatest slate ever in terms of quantity but there is one game that I have isolated and will conquer. Another major, major 400,000* release and it comes from the SEC involving Tennessee and Georgia. Earlier in the season the Volunteers would have been the definite favorite here at Stegman Coliseum but the Bulldogs have been playing great making them the current home chalk. Is this a value on the talented boys from Knoxville or is UGA a legitimate top 25 squad? Locked and loaded once again baby! Today's card is up