The No. 14 Montana Grizzlies (26-7) battle against the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines (28-7) in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at Intrust Bank Arena. The game begins at 9:50 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 15, 2018.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the game opened at 135 points with Michigan set as an 11.5-point favorite.
Montana Grizzlies vs. Michigan Wolverines Betting Prediction
In the , the Grizzlies beat the Eastern Washington Eagles, 82-65. The Grizzlies made 15 of their 20 free throws (75.0 percent) and had an effective field goal percentage of 0.684 (above their season average of 0.514). Montana received a boost from Michael Oguine, who was the game’s high scorer with 21 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
The Wolverines were victorious over the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers in the , 75-66. The Wolverines had a phenomenally low turnover percentage of 7.4 (better than their season average of 12.5) and had a free throw rate of 0.288 (above their season average of 0.197). Moritz Wagner was Michigan’s leading scorer with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
The game should be a showdown of strength against strength as the prolific offense of Michigan (31st in the NCAA with an offensive efficiency of 113.8) takes on the top-notch defense of Montana (31st in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 97.7). Furthermore, the Grizzlies are among the NCAA’s elite on the offensive backboards, ranking 39th in offensive rebounding percentage (33.8 percent). The Wolverines, meanwhile, rank 42nd at corralling defensive rebounds with a defensive rebounding percentage of 75.1 percent.
Montana holds records of 26-7 straight up (SU) and 19-12 against the spread (ATS). Vegas tends to set the total low when the Grizzlies are involved, as 61.3 percent of their games have finished over the total.
Meanwhile, Michigan owns records of 28-7 SU and 22-12 ATS. Vegas has typically been fairly accurate when predicting totals of Wolverines games, with 18 overs compared to 16 unders.
Michael Oguine has averaged 17.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals over the last five games for Montana.
Montana Grizzlies vs. Michigan Wolverines Free Pick
Pick: SU Winner – Michigan, ATS Winner – Montana, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes:
Michigan ranks 57th in three pointers attempted per game (24.8) while Montana ranks 288th (16.2).
The Grizzlies rank 82nd in rebounds per game (37.1) while the Wolverines rank 250th (33.3).
Montana ranks 21st in steals per game (7.8) while Michigan ranks 128th (6.3).
The Wolverines average 3.2 blocks per game, which ranks 145th in the NCAA. The Grizzlies rank 177th in blocks allowed per game (3.8).
Montana is 10th in the nation with 10.1 assists allowed per game while Michigan is 14th with 10.4 assists allowed per game.
Bettings Trends:
The Grizzlies’ average margin of victory in their last five games has been 11.2, up from 9.4 for the season.
During their last five games, the Wolverines have scored an average of 77.8 points per game (3.3 above their season average) and allowed an average of 64.0 points per game (0.5 above their season average).
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