Michigan Ohio State Betting – Buckeyes Aim To Extend Perfect Season Against Wolverines Thursday
The No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes will look to continue their domination of both the Big Ten and the college basketball national rankings when they host the Michigan Wolverines on Thursday night. The Buckeyes have steamrolled through the Big Ten portion of their schedule early on despite a close call at Northwestern, and will look to flex their muscle once again at home with the Super Bowl betting right around the corner.
- Michigan Wolverines @ Ohio State Buckeyes (1)
- Thursday February 3, 2011 – 7:00 PM ET
- Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
- Online Sports Betting Odds: Buckeyes – 9.5
The Buckeyes barely held on for a close 58-57 road win at Northwestern, and will need to get it together in time to impress the fans at Value City Arena with another big win. Michigan enters this game on the heels of consecutive wins over Michigan State and Iowa, which comes after a six-game losing streak that includes a 68-64 home loss to Ohio State on Jan. 12.
College Basketball Betting Preview: Michigan
The Wolverines looked in complete disarray during that awful stretch, which included consecutive losses at Indiana and Northwestern, but have bounce back with a couple of solid efforts in recent games. It won’t get any easier for a Michigan team which will have to travel to Ohio State before a date at Penn State, and the Wolverines will rely heavily on the play of their offensive leader Darius Morris. The sophomore guard has led the team in both points and assists with 15.4 and 7.2 per game respectively, and will be called upon to have a big night for this game to even stay close.
College Basketball Betting Preview: Ohio State
The Buckeyes’ biggest enemy at this point appears to be their own motivation and energy, as the top-ranked team in the country seems to have a clear path to No. 1. Aside from a visit to Purdue later this year, Ohio State has already handled a couple of the top opponents they will face with ease, including a double-digit win over the Boilermakers last week. Jared Sullinger has owned the college basketball sports betting bonus spotlight with an average of 18 points per game, and also leads his team in rebounding with 9.9 per game. The Buckeyes will travel to face a couple of ranked opponents back-to-back with visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin after this game, making it that much more important to find their offensive rhythm in front of the home crowd.
College Basketball Betting: Outlook & Pick
As much as the Wolverines hung around the first time that these teams met, it’s hard to imagine them doing the same on the road at this point. Ohio State looked tentative in their win at Northwestern, and will look to correct those mistakes at home before a mini road trip that will pit them against two top-25 teams. Michigan will keep this one close early on, before it eventually slips away in to a double-digit total.
College Basketball Betting Pick: Buckeyes
