9:03 pm
December 11

#5 Michigan @ Illinois

Who will WIN this matchup?

#5 Michigan Wolverines (8-1)

@ Illinois Fighting Illini (6-3)

 

Current odds:

#5 Michigan Wolverines: (+100)

Illinois Fighting Illini: (-120)

 

The line for this game is Illinois by 1 point.

No. 7 Michigan looks to continue its sizzling start under first-year coach Juwan Howard when it visits Illinois in Big Ten play on Wednesday. The Wolverines have won eight of their first nine games under the former Fab Five star, including a pair of impressive victories against sixth-ranked Gonzaga and No. 16 North Carolina, and they hope to post back-to-back wins in conference play following a 103-91 triumph over Iowa on Friday. Michigan has surpassed 100 points twice this season for the first time since 2015-16, and hope for another hot shooting performance by beating the Fighting Illini for the fifth consecutive game. Illinois is left to pick up the pieces after letting a double-digit lead in the second half slip away in a 59-58 loss to fourth-ranked Maryland on Saturday.

The Fighting Illini were up by as many as 15 points before failing to make a shot from the field in the final 5:05 against the Terrapins to suffer back-to-back losses by a combined three points following an 81-79 setback to Miami (Fla.) on Dec. 2. “It does hurt but the great thing about it is you get another chance do it,” Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu told reporters. “We’ve got another chance to do it at home and make up for this one.”

Franz Wagner, who missed the first four games of the season with a wrist injury, shot 9-of-10 from the free-throw line en route to a career-high 18 points to lead six players in double figures against Iowa. Jon Teske scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with five rebounds and four blocked shots against the Hawkeyes to take his season total to a team-leading 22. Zavier Simpson added 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds while Isaiah Livers, who leads the team in scoring this season, registered 14 points and six rebounds to help the Wolverines improve to 103-4 all-time when scoring 100 points or more.

Kofi Cockburn was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the third time this season after averaging 16 points on 12-of-15 shooting and six rebounds in the tight losses to Miami and Maryland. Trent Frazier scored a team-high 13 points while Andres Feliz added 11 points and five rebounds, but the Fighting Illini were outscored 34-19 by the Terrapins in the second half to see their upset bid fall short. “That one was hard I’m not going to lie,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood told reporters. “It would have been nice to walk out with a win … but I like where we’re at and the progression was there so I think our guys have something they can believe in.”

Michigan has shot above 50 percent from the field in six games this season.

Simpson is ranked second nationally in assists per game (8.7).

Illinois leads the country in rebounding margin (+15.7) and is first in offensive rebounding percentage (42.1).

4/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
#5 Michigan Wolverines