Northwestern Wildcats vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 1/3/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Sunday, January 3, 2021

Location: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Northwestern (+8)

The Michigan Wolverines (8-0) host the Northwestern Wildcats (6-2) at Crisler Center on Sunday. The odds on this contest have Michigan as 8-point favorites. The total is set at 144.5.

Northwestern heads into this contest with a record of 6-2 on the year. They have an average of 83.6 points per contest (34th in the country) on 48.0% from the floor. The Wildcats are connecting on 42.4% on shots from distance (81 of 191) and 73.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Northwestern is grabbing 38.5 rebounds per game and has tallied 156 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 30th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 10.6 times per game and as a squad are committing 16.8 fouls per game. When they are on defense, the Wildcats are forcing 12.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.6 personal fouls. They are ranked 239th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 113 relinquished for the year. The Wildcats defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 39.0% (189 of 484) and they surrender 33.3 boards per game as a squad. They are giving up 29.5% on 3-point attempts and they are 86th in the nation in points per game allowed (65.4).

The Northwestern Wildcats faced off with the Iowa Hawkeyes and took a loss by a final of 87-72 in their last game. Northwestern finished the game having earned a 44.1% FG percentage (26 out of 59) and converted 11 of their 25 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Wildcats made 9 of their 12 attempts for a rate of 75.0%. Regarding pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 30 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 15 assists in this matchup while earning 5 steals and 2 blocks. Concerning defending, Northwestern allowed their opponent to shoot 44.1% from the floor on 26 out of 59 shooting. Iowa recorded 17 assists and had 6 steals in the game. On top of that, the Hawkeyes grabbed 32 rebounds (7 offensive, 25 defensive) and earned 2 rejections. Iowa finished the game at 80.0% at the charity stripe by making 20 of their 25 attempts. They also made 11 out of their 26 attempts from 3-point range.

Pete Nance is a guy who was a contributor for this contest. He scored 21 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 29 mins and grabbed 4 rebounds. Nance finished the contest at 60.0% from the field and earned 2 assists. An additional guy that came through in this matchup for the Wildcats was Chase Audige. He pulled down 2 boards and also tallied 2 assists. He finished the game shooting 44.4% from the field for the game by connecting on 4-of-9 (14 points). When the final whistle blew, Audige played 28 min.

Michigan has a win-loss record of 8-0 for the campaign. The Wolverines are committing 15.4 personal fouls every game while shooting 78.9% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 17.6 times per game (34th in college basketball) and they are giving up possession 13.0 times per game. Michigan has accounted for 658 points on the year (82.3 per contest) and they pull down 39.6 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Wolverines are shooting 52.3% from the floor, which is ranked 28th in the nation. The Wolverines on the defensive end are ranked 147th in D-1 in PPG given up with 68.4. They allow 9.9 assists and 30.1 total boards per game, ranking them 30th and 29th in those categories. The Michigan defense allows 37.0% on three-point shots (68 of 184) and their opponents are making 76.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have forced 10.8 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.7% from the floor (26th in the nation).

When they last stepped on the court, the Michigan Wolverines got the victory with a final of 84-73 when they played the Maryland Terrapins. The Wolverines corralled 24 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 29 in this contest. They also rejected 6 shots while getting 5 steals in this matchup. The Terrapins were called for 13 personal fouls for this contest which took the Wolverines to the charity stripe for 20 shots. They were able to bury 18 of the free throws for a clip of 90.0%. In relation to 3-point shots, Michigan buried 6 of 19 tries (31.6%). When this game wrapped up, the Wolverines finished the game shooting 30 out of 51 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 58.8%. The Wolverines allowed the Terrapins to bury 28 of their 58 tries from the field which had them shooting 48.3% in this matchup. They finished shooting 59.1% from three-point range by shooting 13 of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 4 out of 6 at the free throw line (66.7%). In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Michigan permitted Maryland to get 21 in all (6 on the offensive side).

Hunter Dickinson was important for the Wolverines in this matchup. He made 10 of 11 for the matchup for a rate of 90.9%, which had him sitting at 26 points. Dickinson collected 11 rebounds in his 32 mins played and had 2 assists for this contest. Someone else who came through for Michigan was Franz Wagner. He ended up with 19 points in 37 minutes played via 8 of 14 shooting for this game. Wagner wrapped this one up going 57.1% from the floor in addition to collecting 4 dimes and 2 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Northwestern (+8)

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