March Madness Team Betting Preview: Michigan Wolverines

Mar 15, 2021 - 5:09 AM

Betting Preview: Michigan Wolverines

• Record: 20-4 overall, 14-4 Big Ten Conference
• ATS: 17-7
• O/U: 9-15
• Points Scored/Game: 76.2 (48th overall)
• Points Allowed/Game: 65.4 (48th overall)
• Outright Odds: +700 (BettingPros Consensus)

Team Strengths

Juwan Howard has done a solid job at Michigan building up a program that was ranked 25th pre-season. The Wolverines are lengthy and take care of the basketball, scoring over half of their points from inside-the-arc but still shooting at a 38.7% clip from deep. 

Their length provides elite interior defense, limiting opponents to 42.3 2P% shooting. The Wolverines are an experienced team led by an experienced basketball mind in Juwan Howard. They are an all-around team with a top-10 offense and defense. 

Team Weaknesses

Isaiah Livers being injured might be a roadblock too high for Michigan to overcome. That is 32 minutes a game needing replacement, and Michigan has very little depth. The Wolverines are incredibly capable of a let-down game, dropping games by a lot to Minnesota and Illinois.  

It will be interesting to see how this team rallies with no Isaiah Livers for at least the first weekend. They aren’t the same team without them, and their scoring isn’t nearly as dynamic. In the final games of their season, they didn’t look nearly as good as they did during the earlier parts of the year. They are 2-3 over their last five games and have no momentum going into the tournament.

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Why They’ll Win it All

Despite no Livers, this team has been known to rally, and Juwan Howard pulls his team up by the bootstraps to win it all. Their defense can step up to make up for any subtraction of offense, and their methodical scoring is tough to stop. 

Michigan can compete with any team, and they might have a chip on their shoulder after an early exit in the Big Ten tournament despite being the one-seed. Ranking top-20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency is usually a good first step in leading to a championship, and Michigan is well under that threshold.

Why They Won’t Win it All

Not only is Isaiah Livers a tough blow, but Michigan has a challenging path to a championship. St. Bonaventure and LSU are both playing at the top of their game. Florida State’s size and athleticism are tough to stop. Texas is nearly unstoppable right now, and Alabama is coming off an impressive SEC run.

Michigan will have to get creative when game planning for these teams to win it all, but I simply think they won’t be able to adjust. Livers is too important of a player to win it all without him. 

Michigan Wolverines March Madness Prediction

Michigan can do well in this tournament but I see reaching the Final Four as their ceiling. My official prediction is Michigan losing in the Sweet 16 to Florida State. I fully expect Michigan to be the first one-seed to fall in this tournament.

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Ryan Coleman is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Ryan, check out his archive.

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