Buffalo vs Michigan Odds and Picks (Nov. 10)
- Michigan is an 18.5-point home favorite over Buffalo on Wednesday night
- It will be the season opener for both teams
- A look at the matchup can be found below with a prediction
After coming up one game short of reaching the Final Four for the third time in nine years last season, #6 Michigan will begin its quest to make it there in 2021-22 when it opens the season by hosting Buffalo at 6:30 pm ET, Wednesday, at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.
Michigan went 23-5 last season and reached as high as #2 in the Associated Press media poll. However, the Wolverines fell to UCLA 51-49 in the Elite Eight.
Buffalo had a 16-9 record in 2020-21. The Bulls got to the Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship Game where they lost to Ohio then were eliminated in the first round of the NIT by Colorado State.
Michigan is favored in a game that will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
Buffalo vs Michigan Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | +1600 | +18.5 (-115) | Over 151.5 (-108) |
| Michigan | -4500 | -18.5 (-105) | Under 151.5 (-112) |
Odds as of November 9th at FanDuel.
Big Man Returns for Michigan
Sophomore center Hunter Dickinson entered the NBA Draft after winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors last season and leading Michigan to the conference regular season title. However, Dickinson opted to stay in college after pro scouts told him he needed to become more consistent with his outside shooting.
https://twitter.com/AceAnbender/status/1457811410302476301
Dickinson led the team in scoring last season with 14.1 points a game. He also averaged 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots while shooting 59.8% from the field, most of his points coming with his back to the basket.
Senior guard Eli Brooks is the other returning starter after he decided to use the bonus year of eligible granted by the NCAA because of the pandemic. Last season, Brooks scored 9.5 points and dished 3.1 assists a game while serving as Michigan’s proverbial glue guy.
Senior point guard DeVante’ Jones will run the offense after transferring from Coastal Carolina, where he was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2020-21. He had averages of 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
DeVante Jones had seven assists, five of them in the 1st half
I break down all of them pic.twitter.com/ZPNYsfY5km
— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) November 6, 2021
Jones chose Michigan over Texas, Memphis, and Texas Tech.
Some analysts believe coach Juwan Howard landed the best recruiting class in the country. Among those who decided to come to Ann Arbor are two five stars in swingman Caleb Houstan of Mississauga, Ontario, and center Moussa Diabate from Paris.
Two reserves guards, sophomore Zeb Jackson (illness) and Frankie Collins (leg), are listed as questionable on Michigan’s injury report.
Buffalo’s Dynamic Duo
Buffalo looks like a strong contender for the MAC title as it has two conference Player of the Year candidates in senior forwards Jeenathan Williams and Josh Mballa. Both were Second-Team All-MAC selections last season.
Williams led the team in scoring with a 17.4 average while also pulling down 6.8 rebounds a game. Mballa averaged a double-double with averages of 15.3 points and 10.8 rebounds.
Tired of the NFL preseason already? How bout some more CBB previews–a little Saturday night MACtion. Buffalo–the only team in the MAC to rank top70 in KP's adjDE last szn–brings back DPOY Josh Mballa. Here he is recovering on a pick n pop, and shutting down Ben Vander Plas pic.twitter.com/8aLPDM4ukW
— Riley Davis (@Riley_Davis3) August 15, 2021
Like Diabate, Mballa is a native of France. Mballa began his collegiate career at Texas Tech.
The Bulls have a third double digit scorer returning in senior guard Ronaldo Segu. He averaged 13.3 points and 4.3 assists in 2020-21.
A fourth returning starter is junior forward LaQuill Hardnett, who scored 6.5 points a game a year ago.
Buffalo also has high hopes for freshman forward Kuluel Mading, who also making highlight-worthy plays.
The first of what should be many appearances on #SCTop10 #UBhornsUP pic.twitter.com/n4fJdiHWM7
— Buffalo Men's Basketball (@UBuffaloMBB) November 5, 2021
Buffalo-Michigan Prediction
This marks the first meeting between the schools.
Buffalo played only one game against a Power Five school last year. However, the Bulls almost pulled an upset before losing at Syracuse 107-96 in overtime.
Michigan’s national title hopes are legitimate. However, Buffalo is a good mid-major team and figures to give the Wolverines a decent game.
The Pick: Buffalo +18.5 (-115)
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
