The 7th-ranked Michigan Wolverines travel to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, to face the Purdue Boilermakers in Friday night Big Ten basketball action beginning at 7 pm EST. Currently, the Wolverines are favored by 2.5-points while the total stands at 138-points.
The Wolverines rebounded well from their 1st loss of the season as they took out the struggling Maryland Terrapins at home Tuesday night by 24 points as they used a 42-point 1st half burst along with efficient nights from Franz Wagner along with Isaiah Livers to pick up their 12th win on the year. The defense for Michigan was stifling in allowing just 41% shooting while Maryland converted on just 4 of 19 3-point attempts. Furthermore, the Wolverines outrebounded by road team by a margin of 34-22 in the win as they were able to also cover as 11-point favorites, bringing their record to 8-2 in their last 10, overall.
The Boilermakers also enter this contest with another win under their belts after picking up a 2-point road win over the Ohio State Buckeyes Tuesday night thanks to a last second 3-point shot by freshman Jaden Ivey, who recorded 15 points on 6-12 shooting while connecting on just 2 of 6 attempts from deep. The win was the 4th-straight for the Boilermakers as they were also successful in covering the spread as 5.5-point dogs to win against the number for their 4th-straight outing.
Michigan will take the court for this contest seeking their 5th-straight win outright versus the Boilermakers, including their 3rd-straight at Mackey Arena. The Wolverines have dominated against the spread versus their Big Ten foe in covering in all but 2 of their last 10 meetings, overall. Furthermore, Michigan is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road meetings versus Purdue.
Wolverines seek to atone for last road outing
And while Michigan has been unstoppable at home in 2020, they now take to the road for 2 of their next 3 matchups. They were miserable versus the Minnesota Golden Gophers just last weekend posting only 57 points in an 18-point defeat; However, were able to put things back in perspective in a blowout win at home versus the Terrapins in posting 40+ points in both halves while shooting 50% or better from the field as well as from long-range. Livers (14 ppg, 6 rebs) and Wagner (12 ppg, 7 rebs) led the pack in this contest putting up 20 and 15 points, respectively, while guard Mike Smith (9 ppg) also cracked double-digits for the 2nd time in 3 outings with 11 points along with 6 assists."As a big man, I just felt like he was the right man to coach me."
— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) January 19, 2021
Talk about an understatement. @H_Dickinson24 is thriving under @JuwanHoward, and the @umichbball freshman has the tools and drive to be special.
Fueled by @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/HwkBK1dhqJ
Smith has racked up at least 6 assists in each of his last 7 games, including 10 in Michigan's loss to the Golden Gophers, while Livers and Wagner are each shooting at least 49% from the field, with Livers connecting on 44% of his treys. However, the bulk of Michigan's offense is ran through center Hunter Dickinson (16 ppg, 8 rebs, 1.5 blks), who despite posting 3 points in 21 minutes of play versus Maryland, continues to be a force on both ends of the floor in shooting over 70% in addition to recording 6 blocks in his last 3 games.
Livers and Wagner posted 22 and 19 points in the Wolverines' last matchup versus the Boilermakers on efficient nights; However, Michigan shot just 38% from the field in the 8-point road victory, including only 6-25 from deep. The key to their win, however, was their ability to draw fouls as they went 15-23 from the free-throw line while the defense allowed 40% shooting to Purdue (4-16 3FG) while forcing 12 turnovers. In fact, the Boilermakers have had issues scoring with consistency in their last 4 versus the Wolverines averaging just 67 points during this time.
Boilermakers seek 5th-straight win
After going through a rough patch late December dropping 3 of 4 outings, the Boilermakers have suddenly caught fire in picking up 4-straight (3 on the road) as they were able to outlast a solid, 11-4 Ohio State team in their last time out thanks to 48% shooting along with 16 points along with 7 boards from leading scorer Trevion Williams (15 ppg, 10 rebs). The forward had another efficient night at the rim in converting on 7 of his 13 shots as he is not shooting 54% from the field in addition to coming just 3 rebounds shy of a 3rd-straight double-double.🤫 Chip on our shoulder. pic.twitter.com/2lSQbHY6cS
— Purdue Mens Basketball (@BoilerBall) January 21, 2021
Along with Williams, Sasha Stefanovic (11 ppg) posted 15 points for the 2nd-straight game as he has been slowly coming out of a shooting slump which saw him post single digits in 5 of 6 games from December 22nd-January 14th.Important to add thatIvey, despite averaging 7 points per game in 2020, has scored double-figures in 2 of his last 3 games as he finished with 15 points off the bench for the Boilermakers in their win over the Buckeyes. And while Williams and Stefanovic were the only double-digit scorers in their last meeting versus Michigan with 18 and 13 points, Williams ended 8-21 from the floor while Stefanovic went just 3-5 and 3-3 from deep.
Purdue allowed only 65 points on 38% shooting to the Buckeyes as they failed to give up 70 points for the 3rd-time in 4 outings. For the season, the team is surrendering 67 points on 41% shooting (31% from long-range). However, they have really taken steps back on this end of the floor versus Michigan in past meetings as the Wolverines are posting an average of 77 points in their last 5, overall.
Stats & Trends
- Wolverines are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
- Wolverines are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win.
- Wolverines are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Home team is 1-3-1 ATS in last 5 meetings.
- Boilermakers are 1-8-1 ATS in last 10 meetings.
The Pick
Michigan has seemingly gotten over their lackluster defeat at the hands of the Golden Gophers and are back on track on both ends of the floor. And while one can expect Purdue to approach this contest with tons of focus and intensity, the fact is that the Wolverines have simply had much success SU as well as ATS versus the Boilermakers in past matchups. Furthermore, they have covered the number in 8 of 10 versus their conference foe, including 4-straight on the road versus the Boilermakers. In all, look for the road team, which has won ATS in 3 of the last 5 amongst these 2 teams, to cover the small spread.