Posted on
3/12/2008 10:59:29 PM
NCAA March Madness Wagering - MICHIGAN vs. IOWA
By Charles Jay
BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds: PICK, Total 112.5
The Michigan Wolverines (9-21 SU, 10-18 ATS), who have had a mostly-down season for first-year head coach John Beilein, will try to extend their season on Thursday at Noon ET when they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes (13-18 SU, 13-15 ATS) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
In the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds, the game is a pick'em, with a total of 112.5 points.
Here are some of the NCAA college basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* MICH has lost four of its last five games SU
* MICH has covered one of its last five games
* MICH has played its last five games UNDER the total
* IOWA has lost six of its last eight games SU
* IOWA has played eight of its last 12 games UNDER the total
* IOWA has won four of the last five meetings SU
* IOWA has covered three of the last four meetings
* Four of the last five meetings have gone OVER the total
* IOWA has had the shooting edge in seven of the last nine meetings
* IOWA has had the rebounding edge in four of the last five meetings
Both teams installed veteran coaches this season with different approaches - Michigan hired John Beilein, the former West Virginia coach, who likes to play an up-tempo style with an accent on perimeter shooting. Todd Lickliter, the former Butler mentor who came to Iowa this season, also likes to shoot the three-pointer, but his teams generally slow things down and play a half-court game.
Both coaches demonstrated that their programs are works in progress, and they split two meetings, each winning on the road. So which team will be able to impose their style on the other?
We're going to side with Michigan on that count, because the Wolverines, because of many factors, including injuries, suspensions and general inexperience, have not really been able to do what Beilein hopes they can, which is to score points. Michigan has tallied only 63.9 points a contest, which is 268th in the country. Meanwhile, Iowa has shown some signs of adapting to Lickliter's smothering half-court defense, as the Hawkeyes have allowed just over 40% shooting tot he opposition.
Manny Harris, who has emerged as a freshman star of the future for Michigan, is only a 39% shooter, and has shot below that percentage in each of his last seven games. That is no way to keep a season going.
Iowa keeps Michigan off balance here, and so we'll go with the Hawkeyes in this pick'em game in the BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: IOWA
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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)