College Basketball Betting

Michigan Bettors Have Been Grabbing The Cash

While everyone talks about the Big East being the best conference in college basketball, in this week's AP rankings there is another conference with more top-25 teams.

The Big Ten actually has six teams in the top-25 compared to five for the Big East. Granted, the Big East has three teams in the top-10, whereas the Big Ten has only one, that being No. 6 Illinois.

Michigan St. is the second-highest ranked team in the Big Ten at No. 12. However, there is another school in the conference that arguably should hold that position. The Michigan Wolverines are ranked No. 21 even though they have lost fewer games, have a better conference record, and recently beat the Spartans. Enjoying their best start since the 1992-93 season, the Wolverines were 15-3 straight up (SU) and 5-2 in the conference as of Wednesday. Only Illinois has more conference wins at 6-2.

Michigan bettors have also been content to wager on the Wolverines this season. Michigan has an outstanding record of 10-4 against the spread (ATS) in NCAA basketball betting.

Meanwhile, the Spartans, who were highly regarded heading into the season, are 16-5 SU and are 4-3 in conference play. Against the spread, Michigan St. has not been a good team to wager on at a disappointing 8-11.

The Wolverines' success against the number reflects the fact that they weren't expected to play as well as they have this season, whereas the Spartans were expected to be more dominant.

The Wolverines, for instance, are 4-0 ATS as underdogs. The Spartans, on the other hand, began the season 0-5 as favorites. Although the lines have adjusted, Michigan St. is still just 5-9 as favorites.

When the Wolverines beat the Spartans 72-67 last week, they were listed as 1.5-point home dogs. They followed that up with an 85-76 victory over then-No. 23 Wisconsin as 3-point home favorites.

In addition to the No. 21 ranking by the AP, Michigan logged in at No. 20 on the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll. It's the first time MU has been in the top-25 since 1998.

The Wolverines were scheduled to visit Penn St. (10-8 SU, 6-5 ATS) on Wednesday and were listed as 6-point favorites.