
The 13-10 Michigan Wolverines go to Iowa City to take on the 17-7 Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday. The Big 10 is a tight race with all but Nebraska in the top 100 teams. Michigan is coming off of big wins against NET ranked #9 Purdue and #93 Penn State. While, Iowa is on a three game winning streak, beating Nebraska, #96 Minnesota, & #99 Maryland. Michigan vs Iowa will help determine Big 10 standings, and give us a better idea if Michigan will actually make the bubble. Before placing big money on Michigan vs Iowa, find the best basketball betting sites to maximize your winnings.
The Big 10 Conference has eight teams in the top 50 in NET rankings (#9 Purdue, #13 Illinois, #17 Ohio State, #19 Iowa, #23 Wisconsin, #24 Michigan State, #35 Michigan, & 41 Indiana). Five of the other six teams in the conference are in the top 100, with #65 Northwestern & #81 Rutgers having a legitimate shot at still making it in March Madness. #93 Penn State, #96 Minnesota, & #99 Maryland all can cause an upset, but are unlikely to make it to the Madness. Finally, Nebraska is the outlier at #176 and should be relegated to a lesser conference, such as C-USA or Sun Belt.
Michigan came into the season ranked as a favorite, not only to make the tournament, but to win March Madness. They have had a disappointing year to say the least. The 13-10 Wolverines somehow still have a chance to make the tournament. The Wolverines rose seventeen spots in the NET rankings after a very surprising win against top-tier Purdue (82-58). They would have rose even higher in the rankings if they hadn’t lost so badly to Ohio State later in the week. Michigan is only three and six on the road, and two and six against top 100 teams on the road.
On the other side of the court, Iowa plays really well on their home court. The 17-7 Hawkeyes are 13-2 at home this year and are seven and two against top 100 teams at home. Those two losses were to #13 Illinois and #9 Purdue. Iowa has one of the best forwards in the league in sophomore Keegan Murray. He is number three in all of college basketball with over 23 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounds with about eight and a half per game, and averages two blocks per game.
Murray plays even better at home shooting an ungodly 24.6 points per game, while increasing his rebounds to a little over eight and a half per game, and 2.1 blocks as well. He is the main reasons the Hawkeyes are shooting 84 points per game. Iowa out rebounds, out steals, out bocks, and out assists the Wolverines. This should be an easy win for the Hawkeyes by double digits. Figure out your March Madness’ sports betting plans now, by researching the Best Sportsbook Bonuses to win big.
As the March Madness tournament grows closer, there are fewer bubble teams that have chances of making the tournament. Michigan was the second biggest riser this week, but it was the fellow-Big 10 Rutgers that rose more spots (18) after impressive wins against the #17 Buckeyes and #23 Badgers. Memphis completely upset #5 Houston this past week (as well as beating #107 Tulane) to rise up 16 spots in the rankings to #44 (the right side of the bubble). Atlantic 10’s St. Bonaventure also went 16 spots higher in the rankings after an average win to Fordham, but an impressive win to the Saint Louis Billikens. The Bonnies will help their cause for the tournament, as they beat Saint Louis again earlier this week.Β The Bonnies are still outside looking in at 87, but if they keep winning, they can force their way in still.
Both Utah State and Davidson had big slides out of the bubble going from #43 to #58 for the Aggies and #47 to #61 for the Wildcats. Both teams were sunk by losses to teams outside of the top 100 (Nevada and Rhode Island respectively). They will have to have to win some more upsets to make it back in.
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