A massive week for the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines (24-1, 14-1 Big Ten) begins with tonight’s trip to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on No. 7 Purdue (21-4, 11-3 Big Ten).
Later this week, Michigan will take on No. 3 Duke at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, in the Edward Jones Capital Showcase (6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
Dusty May’s team — whose final six regular-season opponents this season include four that are currently ranked in the top 15 — is a slight road favorite tonight over Purdue.
The Boilermakers entered the season ranked No. 1, and they started the year at 17-1 (7-0 Big Ten). They lost three games in a row in late January, though, falling to UCLA, Illinois and Indiana.
Entering tonight’s matchup, Michigan has a two-game lead atop the Big Ten standings, and it is -400 at DK to win the Big Ten regular season title, ahead of Illinois (+425 at DK), Purdue (+1100 at DK) and Nebraska (+6000 at DK).
How To Watch No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 7 Purdue
- Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. ET
- TV: Peacock
Michigan vs. Purdue Betting Odds: Spread, Moneyline, Total
Best Michigan vs. Purdue Player Prop Bet
Michigan F Yaxel Lendeborg 16+ Points (-110 at DraftKings) — 1 unit
Yaxel Lendeborg is coming off a 17-point night in just 30 minutes in his team’s blowout win over UCLA last Saturday, and I expect him to be a matchup nightmare for Purdue this evening.
In Michigan’s last matchup against a top-10 foe, Lendeborg led the balanced Wolverines with 26 points and 12 rebounds in 35 minutes in an 83-71 win over archrival Michigan State. A big reason for his success in that one was MSU’s inability to keep him off the free-throw line, as he went 13-for-15 from the stripe in that contest.
If Lendeborg is aggressive tonight against the Boilermakers, he should easily be able to cash this prop against Purdue big men Oscar Cluff, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Daniel Jacobsen, who are not accustomed to defending bigs with Lendeborg’s athleticism and versatility.
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Michigan vs. Purdue Best ATS Bet: Michigan -2.5 (-106 at FD) — 1 unit
Michigan’s 24-1 overall record doesn’t quite do justice to how dominant this team has been this year. Of the Wolverines’ 14 wins in Big Ten play, just two were decided by single-digits.
The Wolverines’ lone loss this year, to Wisconsin on January 10, came in a shootout in which the Badgers shot 50 percent from the floor, including 45 percent (15-of-33) from 3-point land.
Tonight, the Wolverines face a tough test against Purdue, whose offensive rating of 128.2 is No. 2 nationally. Michigan’s size should create problems for Braden Smith and the Boilermakers, though, especially if they once again struggle to get to the free-throw line (Purdue’s free-throw rate of 28.7 percent is among the worst in the country).
On the other end of the court, Michigan’s size (Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara are all 6-foot-9 or taller) makes this team a matchup nightmare. This team’s size advantage is a huge reason why it boasts the best net rating in the nation at +38.67, and I expect that to prove the difference tonight in a close game.
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