It will be a battle between Big Ten opponents when the Ohio State Buckeyes (16-10) welcome the Michigan Wolverines (19-7) to Value City Arena. Action starts at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 16 and can be seen on ESP and ES3.
The Buckeyes beat Rutgers 79-69 on Saturday. Jae’Sean Tate played a pivotal role, recording his fourth double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds. The Wolverines are coming off a 61-56 win over Purdue on Saturday. Zak Irvin shot 8 for 19 and led in scoring with 22 points.
From an eFG% perspective, this will be a battle of strength versus strength when the Wolverines have the ball. Their sweet-shooting offense ranks seventh in the nation in that metric at 57.1%, while Ohio State is 29th-best in the nation in eFG% defense (45.4%).
The Buckeyes come into this game 16-10 Straight Up (SU) and 13-13 Against The Spread (ATS).
On the other side, the Wolverines have 19-7 SU and 13-12 ATS records. Offensively, the Wolverines have really sputtered in the last 10 games. Their season average has fallen to 76.3 points per game after averaging only 69.6 during that stretch. The Wolverines rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking seventh in the nation with 267 made (10.0 per game). The Wolverines are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking sixth in Division I at 1.58. The Wolverines are one of the top defensive teams in the nation, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 66.0 points allowed per game.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between Ohio State and Michigan. Their previous game was a Wolverines victory, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. They are even ATS at 5-5 in their most recent meetings as well. Neither Ohio State nor Michigan has led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers) over their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mich, ATS Winner – Mich
Notes
Ohio State averages 70.9 points per game, placing the team just 179th in the nation. Michigan ranks 41st in points allowed, giving up 66.0 points per game.
Ohio State scores just 73.1 points per home game (ranked 183rd). Michigan ranks 76th in points allowed on the road, giving up 71.4 points.
The Michigan Wolverines rank 14th for their offensive rating of 116.5. The Ohio State Buckeyes have a defensive rating of 97.2 (ranked 47th).
The Michigan Wolverines have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking 25th in the nation with a FG% of 48.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Ohio State Buckeyes are winless with a 0-3 record.
The Ohio State Buckeyes rank higher based on their field goal percentage (159th) than their effective field goal percentage (182nd). The Michigan Wolverines rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (seventh) than their field goal percentage (25th).
Michigan ranks 70th in assists, recording 15.2 per game. Ohio State performs worse at 269th with 12.0 assists per game.
The Ohio State Buckeyes average 5.5 blocks per game, the 18th-ranked team in the country. The Michigan Wolverines rank a lowly 305th in blocking with just 2.3 per game.
Michigan ranks 342nd in offensive rebounds, while Ohio State ranks at 41st in defensive rebounds.
On average, Ohio State forces a turnover rate of 18.0%. When Michigan turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a tremendous 5-1 record.
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