Michigan begins defense of its Big Ten Tournament championship when it faces Iowa at 2:25 p.m. ET Thursday at Madison Square Garden. The Wolverines are nine-point favorites, up from the opening line of 7.5. The over-under is set at 150.5 points.
Before locking in your picks, you need to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model is picking. Last season, the model was an impressive 755-636-20 on A-rated picks, returning $6,529 to any $100 player who followed it.
That wasn't a fluke. With the NCAA Tournament just around the corner, the model is heating up. It has nailed six consecutive picks heading into March and was dead-on for a pair of Iowa games in the past week. It took the Hawkeyes (-3.5) in their 77-70 win over Northwestern on Saturday, and Iowa (+1) in its 96-87 victory over Illinois in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.
The computer has now simulated Iowa vs. Michigan 10,000 times and locked in against-the-spread and over-under picks.
We can tell you the model is calling for the total to remain under 150.5, hitting in 72 percent of simulations. You can see which side of the spread hits over 50 percent of the time at SportsLine.
Michigan cruised through the 2017 Big Ten Tournament as a No. 8 seed en route to the title. This season, the Wolverines (24-7) are the fifth seed.
No. 12-seeded Iowa (14-18) got its Big Ten Tourney off to a solid start Wednesday, downing Illinois 96-87. The Hawkeyes controlled the glass, outrebounding the Illini 40-20 and outscoring them at the free-throw line 34-9.
It was the most points ever in a Big Ten Tournament game for Iowa, which hasn't won in the event since 2013.
But they'll have to find a way to slow Michigan guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur Rahkman, who torched the Hawkeyes twice for team-high 18 and 15 points in two Wolverines victories, 75-68 at Iowa on Jan. 2 and 74-59 at home on Feb. 14.
Michigan has won five straight, all by at least nine points, while Iowa has won two straight after a six-game losing streak.
Which side of Iowa vs. Michigan in the Big Ten tournament should you back on Thursday? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Iowa-Michigan spread cashes over half the time, all from the model that is crushing college hoops.
