The eighth-seeded Michigan Wolverines will look to continue their mastery over the ninth-seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights when they meet in the second round of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. The Wolverines (17-14, 11-9 Big Ten), who have lost two in a row, defeated Rutgers 58-45 in their only regular-season meeting on Feb. 23. The Scarlet Knights (18-13, 10-10), who have lost six of their last eight games, are looking for their best finish since going 20-11 in 2019-2020. The winner of this game will advance to face the top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Tipoff from the United Center in Chicago is set for noon ET. Michigan leads the all-time series 16-1, but this will be the first meeting in the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines are 3.5-point favorites in the latest Rutgers vs. Michigan odds, while the over/under for total points scored is set at 132.5. Before making any Michigan vs. Rutgers picks, you need to check out what college basketball expert Matt Severance has to say.
Severance is a well-connected writer and handicapper who has worked in the industry since 2005. He enters Thursday as SportsLine’s top college basketball expert. He’s on a 137-88 run on all college basketball picks, returning almost $1,700 for $100 players. Anyone following him is way up.
Now, he has his sights on Michigan vs. Rutgers. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college basketball lines and trends for Rutgers vs. Michigan:
- Michigan vs. Rutgers spread: Michigan -3.5
- Michigan vs. Rutgers over/under: 133.5 points
- Michigan vs. Rutgers money line: Michigan -170, Rutgers +150
- RUT: The Scarlet Knights are 7-2-1 against the spread in their last 10 games following a double-digit loss at home
- MICH: The Wolverines are 5-0 ATS in their last five games overall
- Michigan vs. Rutgers picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Michigan can cover
Junior center Hunter Dickinson has been dominant of late, registering four consecutive double-doubles, including a 31-point and 16-rebound effort in a 91-87 double-overtime loss at Illinois on March 2. For the season, Dickinson has 13 double-doubles, including 11 since the beginning of the calendar year. He scored a season-high 32 points, while grabbing 12 rebounds in an 81-46 win over Maryland on Jan. 1. In 31 games, all starts, he is averaging 18.2 points, nine rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.5 assists per game.
Also powering the Wolverines is freshman guard Jett Howard. In 28 games, all starts, he is averaging 14.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and two assists per game. He has reached double-digit scoring in each of the last three games, including 16 points, four rebounds and two assists in Sunday’s 75-73 overtime loss at Indiana. He scored a season-high 34 points in a 93-84 overtime loss at Iowa on Jan. 12.
Why Rutgers can cover
Junior center Clifford Omoruyi is also on a roll, registering a pair of double-doubles in his last four games. He scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 75-74 loss at Minnesota on March 2, and scored 10 points and grabbed 10 boards in the loss against Michigan. For the season, he has registered 13 double-doubles. In 31 games, all starts, Omoruyi is averaging 13.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 30.2 minutes.
Another force for the Scarlet Knights is senior guard Cam Spencer. The Loyola Maryland transfer is averaging 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He is connecting on 44% of his field goals, including a blistering 43.1% from 3-point range, and is nearly automatic at the free-throw line, hitting on 89.9% of his foul shots. He was impressive in the loss at Minnesota, scoring 21 points, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists.
How to make Rutgers vs. Michigan picks
For Thursday’s matchup, Severance has identified a critical X-factor he says makes one side a must-back. See what it is at SportsLine.
Who wins Michigan vs. Rutgers? And what critical x-factor makes one side hit hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you need to jump on Tuesday, all from the expert who is on a huge college basketball roll, and find out.
