Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 2/18/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Thursday, February 18, 2021

Location: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Rutgers (+10)

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (12-7) head to Crisler Center on Thursday where they'll meet the Michigan Wolverines (14-1). Michigan opens this game as 10-point favorites. The over/under opens at 137.

Rutgers enters this game with a mark of 12-7 so far this year. They are giving up possession 11.2 times per contest and as a team they are committing 17.2 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Rutgers is pulling in 36.3 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 276 dimes for the season, which is 95th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Scarlet Knights are connecting on 32.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (119 of 366) and 61.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 71.8 pts per game (170th in college basketball) while hitting 46.1% from the field. Defensively, the Scarlet Knights are forcing 13.3 turnovers every game and they draw 16.6 personal fouls. They are 235th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 253 relinquished for the campaign. The Scarlet Knights defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.7% (458 of 1,099) and they relinquish 35.7 boards per game as a team. They give up 32.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 110th in D-1 in points per game allowed (67.9).

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights faced the Northwestern Wildcats and went home with a win by a final score of 64-50 in their last game. Rutgers walked away from the contest having earned a 41.1% field goal percentage (23 of 56) and knocked down 4 out of their 19 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Scarlet Knights made 14 of their 16 tries for a rate of 87.5%. With regard to rebounding, they earned 41 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 9 assists for the matchup as well as having 6 steals and 8 rejections. In terms of defense, Rutgers allowed their opponent to shoot 41.1% from the floor on 23 of 56 shooting. Northwestern distributed 9 assists and had 8 steals for the contest. On top of that, the Wildcats collected 25 boards (4 offensive, 21 defensive) and earned 8 blocked shots. Northwestern walked away from this one shooting 66.7% from the charity stripe by knocking down 8 of their 12 shots. They also converted 6 out of their 19 attempts from 3-point land.

Ron Harper Jr. is someone who was a major factor in this game. He had 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He played 33 minutes and also grabbed 11 boards. Jr. finished 41.7% from the field and also distributed 2 assists. Another guy that was a major contributor in the matchup for the Scarlet Knights was Myles Johnson. He pulled down 14 boards and accumulated 2 assists. He finished the contest at 83.3% from the floor for the matchup by going 5-of-6 (12 points). When the final whistle was blown, Johnson was on the hardwood for 32 min.

Michigan has a record of 14-1 for the campaign. When it comes to offense, the Wolverines are shooting 50.2% from the floor, which is ranked 21st in the country. Michigan has scored 1,183 pts this season (78.9 per contest) and they snag 39.4 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 16.9 times per contest (20th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 12.5 times per game. The Wolverines commit 14.8 fouls per contest and they connect on 76.7% from the charity stripe. The Wolverines on the defensive end are ranked 51st in the nation in points per game surrendered with 64.9. They have relinquished 10.3 assists and 31.2 boards per game, which is ranked 28th and 36th in the nation. The Michigan defense gives up 32.2% on shots from distance (105 of 326) and their opponents are connecting on 75.8% of their shots from the free throw line. They are forcing their opponents into 10.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 37.5% from the floor (3rd in college basketball).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Michigan Wolverines took home the win by a final score of 67-59 when they played the Wisconsin Badgers. The Wolverines were able to corral 23 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 32 in the game. They blocked 6 shots while getting 5 steals in this contest. The Badgers committed 18 fouls in this contest which took the Wolverines to the free throw line for a total of 16 shots. They were able to bury 12 of the free throw tries for a rate of 75.0%. In regard to shots from downtown, Michigan buried 7 of 17 tries (41.2%). Overall, the Wolverines ended up going 24 out of 59 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.7%. The Wolverines permitted the Badgers to bury 21 out of 54 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 38.9% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 31.6% from distance by connecting on 6 of 19 and ended up going 11 of 12 from the free throw line (91.7%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, Michigan allowed Wisconsin to collect 25 overall (3 on the offensive glass).

Isaiah Livers was important for the Wolverines in this game. He made 8 out of 16 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 50.0%, which had him sitting at 20 points. Livers pulled down 7 rebounds in his 38 minutes played and totaled 2 assists for the contest. One more player who was a determining factor for Michigan was Franz Wagner. He notched 14 points in his 38 minutes on the court by going 6 out of 11 shooting in the game. Wagner walked away from this one going 54.5% from the floor as well as collecting 2 assists and 2 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Rutgers (+10)

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