Michigan vs. Minnesota odds: Picks from advanced computer model that's 37-16 on college hoops
The Minnesota Golden Gophers will visit the No. 24-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET in a nationally televised game. The Wolverines are favored by 11 points, unchanged from the opening line.
In this conference battle that could have major conference and NCAA Tournament implications, you need to see what SportsLine's Projection Model has to say.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, completely crushed its top-rated college basketball picks last season, returning a profit of almost $6,600 on $100 bets for anybody who followed them.
That wasn't a fluke, either. The model entered this week on a scorching 37-16 run on top-rated picks -- a cash rate of 70 percent. Anybody who has been following those picks is way, way up.
Now it has simulated Michigan vs. Minnesota 10,000 times and came up with some surprising results.
We can tell you that the model is calling for Jaaron Simmons to have a big game for Michigan with 13 points and 7 assists. Moritz Wagner will add 10 points for the Wolverines, while Minnesota will be paced by a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) from Jordan Murphy, the model projects.
And the model has a strong pick against the spread for this matchup, saying you can back one side almost 60 percent of the time. You can see which side it is over only at SportsLine.
The model has taken into account Minnesota's four-game losing streak that has sunk the Golden Gophers to 14-10 overall and 3-8 in Big Ten play. These losses haven't been quality, either. Three of their past four defeats have come at the hands of teams ranked near the bottom of the conference.
Michigan, meanwhile, has won four of its past six and is bolstering its tournament seeding in a big way. The Wolverines get it done with a smothering defense that gives up only 63.1 points per game -- good for 13th in the nation.
But just because the Wolverines are extremely strong on that end of the floor doesn't mean they'll be able to cover this double-digit spread.
The Wolverines aren't as strong on offense, where they rank 163rd nationally in scoring, and regularly struggle on the glass, barely cracking the top 300 in team rebounding. That'll be a big issue against Murphy, who is one of the best rebounders in the league with an average of 11.9. He pulled down 17 boards in his previous game.
So what side of Minnesota-Michigan do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to get SportsLine's advanced computer model's strong pick for Michigan-Minnesota, and see which side covers almost 60 percent of the time, all from a model that entered the week on a blistering 37-16 on its top-rated point-spread picks.