The Western Michigan Broncos and Butler Bulldogs tip off their college basketball seasons at the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Western Michigan-Butler college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Western Michigan at Butler: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Western Michigan +1200 (bet $100 to win $1,200) | Butler -3334 (bet $3,334 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Western Michigan +19 (-110) | Butler -19 (-110)
- Over/Under: 131.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Western Michigan at Butler: Three things to know
- Butler was getting dressed, getting ready to face Providence in a 4-5 game at the Big East Tournament on March 12 when the 2019-20 season ended. We haven’t seen the Bulldogs since a 72-71 thrilling regular-season finale win at Xavier on March 7.
- Butler won 22 regular-season games, including a 3-0 straight up and ATS run to improve its potential seeding for the NCAA tournament. Of course, that was all for naught. The Bulldogs have three returning starters from that team in F Bryce Golden, F Bryce Nze and G Aaron Thompson, who was named the preseason Big East Defensive Player of the Year. G Jair Bolden, a transfer from South Carolina, also bolsters the frontcourt.
- Western Michigan fumbled its way through a 13-18 regular-season campaign, and was just 3-12 away from home. The Broncos are not expected to be much better this season, either, as the media almost unanimously selected them to finish in the basement of the MAC.
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Western Michigan at Butler: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Butler 79, Western Michigan 56
Money line (ML)
You can’t take Butler (-3334) and expect to have any kind of long-term success wagering. Yeah, you’ll hit plenty of winners with minimal gains, and you might even hit 20 or 30 winners in a row. When that loss comes, and it always does, all of that good work will be for nothing, and your bankroll will be gone. AVOID.
Against the spread (ATS)
BUTLER -19 (-110) is a strong play at Hinkle against a Western Michigan side that is not very good, and will not be very good at any point. They’ll get off to an especially rough start against a Bulldogs side which won 22 games a season ago. Butler has won 58 straight games against non-conference foes, and 21 straight home openers. The Broncos will wilt under the pressure of Thompson and company, and the Bulldogs will pull away in the second half.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 131.5 (-110) is only worth playing lightly in this one. Butler isn’t an up-tempo team, and defense is its hallmark. That’s normally never good for an Over play, but Western is that bad, and even Butler will roll up nearly 80 points on them, about four buckets higher than its season average of 72.8 last season.
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