The No. 19 Michigan Wolverines (6-0, 1-0 Big Ten) visit the Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-4, 0-1) in a conference game Christmas evening at the Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Michigan-Nebraska college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Rankings courtesy of USA TODAY Sports’ Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
Michigan at Nebraska: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 10:50 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Michigan -400 (bet $400 to win $100) | Nebraska +300 (bet $100 to win $300)
- Against the spread/ATS: Michigan -8.5 (+100) | Nebraska +8.5 (-120)
- Over/Under: 147.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Michigan at Nebraska: Three things to know
- Michigan held onto to beat Penn State 62-58 as a 7-point home favorite in its Big Ten opener Dec. 13. Wolverines leading scorer, 7-foot-1 freshman C Hunter Dickinson, had a game-high 20 points and 7 rebounds, which tied for the game-high, in the win.
- Nebraska lost its third of the past four games, all to major-conference opponents, in a 67-53 beatdown at Big Ten foe and now-No. 9 Wisconsin Tuesday. The Cornhuskers put up a fight in the first half in a game they covered as 16-point underdogs, but the Badgers pulled away in the second half.
- The Wolverines have dominated the recent head-to-head history. Michigan is 4-1 straight-up and ATS in the last five games, including a current four-game win streak – all by double-digits.
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Michigan at Nebraska: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Michigan 84, Nebraska 69
Money line (ML)
This is a PASS because, even though we are going to lay the points with Michigan, it’s not wise to be risking 4-to-1 of your potential return in a conference game.
Against the spread (ATS)
It’s hard to find an edge for Nebraska vs. Michigan. The Wolverines have a higher net effective field-goal percentage (.580 eFG% vs. .422 opponents’ eFG%) and a greater net in rebounds per game by an average of eight boards. In fact, the Cornhuskers have the 238th-best field-goal percentage in the nation while Michigan is 11th in opponents’ field-goal percentage.
The Wolverines have a veteran team with three upperclassmen in the starting lineup and seven in the rotation who are used to beating up on the Cornhuskers. Also, Nebraska hasn’t performed well as a home dogs, failing to cover its last seven home games when getting points.
BET MICHIGAN -8.5 (+100) for 1 unit.
Over/Under (O/U)
I “LEAN” OVER 147.5 (-110) for a quarter-unit only because while I trust Michigan’s offensive efficiency, I am not as confident Nebraska will help us get Over the total. Plus, the Wolverines play at a much slower pace. If they are controlling the glass, they could slow the game down, which gives the Cornhuskers less opportunity to score.
However, the Cornhuskers are 32nd in the 3-point rate and if they are connecting on 3’s early, it could force the Wolverines to increase the tempo and they shouldn’t have a lot of difficulties scoring.
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