Michigan vs Minnesota Picks and Odds

• #7 Michigan (11-0, 6-0 Big Ten) battles #23 Minnesota (10-4, 3-4 Big Ten) on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 2 pm EST
• The Wolverines and Golden Gophers square off for the second time in less than two weeks, after Michigan won by 25 on Jan. 6
• The odds for the game, as well as matchup analysis and a pick, can be found in the article below

#23 Minnesota had a truly rough week last week, suffering a pair of huge losses to #7 Michigan (25-point defeat) and Iowa (15-point defeat). After five days off, the Golden Gophers are back in action against the Wolverines again as home underdogs on Saturday (Jan. 16th, 2 pm EST).

Michigan is one of just five NCAA Division I teams left with at least 11 wins and zero losses. But they’ve only played a pair of games away from their home arena so far. Could they be in for an upset? Here’s a look at the odds:

Michigan vs Minnesota Odds

Odds as of Jan. 15th, 2020 at FanDuel.

How They’ve Fared Recently

We’ll touch more on Minnesota and Michigan’s recent battle shortly, but let’s go over what else these teams have done of late. Michigan has loaded up the win column with four wins against KenPom top-50 teams.

Frankly, it’s difficult to criticize the Wolverines’ play so far. They’re sixth in adjusted offensive efficiency and 10th in adjusted defensive efficiency. They’re seventh in effective field goal percentage, and 10th in effective field goal percentage allowed. In case you need a reminder, this is out of 345 D-I teams — so that’s insanely good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmtPlItvn5c

Michigan’s most recent game was their best showing, knocking off #9 Wisconsin, 77-54. Nobody’s perfect, but the Wolverines are darn close.

Minnesota has four losses this year, but all have come against conference foes ranked inside the top-15 in both KenPom and the AP poll. Sometimes life just ain’t fair.

OH MY. Marcus Carr with the dagger. 😱

(🎥: @BigTenNetwork) pic.twitter.com/Ho1gvgwrJg

— theScore (@theScore) December 1, 2020

One of those losses came against Iowa, 86-71, in the Golden Gophers’ most recent game. But they also beat Iowa, 102-95 (OT) on Christmas Day. Junior guard Marcus Carr (20.9 points, 5.5 assists per game) simply has an ability to take over on any given night.

ATS Analysis

You know how good teams win and great teams cover? Michigan is a great team. The Wolverines are 9-2 against the spread, with five consecutive ATS wins entering Saturday. They’ve also won four in a row ATS against teams with a winning record.

Oh yea … ICYMI
BIG 🤠 is BACK!#GoBlue 〽️🏀 pic.twitter.com/qlT3VGtEAi

— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) January 13, 2021

Their current ATS heater includes four consecutive wins by a margin of eight points or more. Seriously, Michigan is as hot as can be right now.

Minnesota is a much more pedestrian 6-7-1 ATS, with three losses in their past four. The Golden Gophers are 10-0 straight up at home this year, but that probably won’t matter.

Head-to-Head Matchup

Just 10 days ago, Michigan trounced Minnesota at home, 82-57. The game was reasonably close at halftime, with the Wolverines leading by six, but their second half was a total takeover.

For the game, Michigan shot 64.4 percent from 2-pt. range — not really an anomaly, as they’re shooting over 60 percent from that distance all season — and out-assisted Minnesota, 17-6.

The Golden Gophers might have the best individual player in Carr, but the Wolverines are a complete team top to bottom. That’s what happens when you mix a bunch of strong returnees with a true freshman who already has three double-doubles.

If you’re really gung-ho about the Golden Gophers’ glimmering home record, you might as well take them on the money line to increase the value. But we’ll stick with the red-hot Wolverines to cover for a sixth straight game.

Pick: Michigan -4.5 (-120)