Michigan vs. Minnesota odds, line: College basketball picks, top predictions from model on 16-8 run

The Michigan Wolverines look to keep pace in a competitive battle for first place in the Big Ten when they take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.  Michigan (23-3, 12-3) brings its shut-down defense to Minneapolis to face a team in the Gophers (17-9, 7-8) that desperately seeks a marquee win to build upon its NCAA Tournament résumé. The seventh-ranked Wolverines are 4.5-point sportsbook favorites with the over-under for total points scored at 133 in the latest Michigan vs. Minnesota odds. Before you lock in your Michigan vs. Minnesota picks, check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine’s proven projection model. 

The model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 16 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 16-8 run on top-rated college basketball side picks either against the spread or on the money line. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now it has locked in on Michigan vs. Minnesota. We can tell you it’s leaning toward the over, but it has also locked in a ridiculously confident against-the-spread pick that hits in over 70 percent of simulations. You can only see that selection at SportsLine.

The model knows Charles Matthews is heating up. The Michigan 6-foot-6 senior is averaging 13.2 points, but 18.7 over the past three games while shooting 63.1 percent. Matthews is also the player who nailed a buzzer-beater in the Wolverines’ 58-56 victory over the Gophers at Crisler Arena on Jan. 22. The game was close, but Michigan shot just 33.9 percent, well under its season average. One can expect a better offensive effort Thursday from a team that averages 70.4 points. 

Matthews has become a more-reliable part of Michigan’s 1-2 punch with freshman Ignas Brazdeikis (14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds). Brazdeikis had 18 points and 11 rebounds against Minnesota last time out. And the Wolverines still pack the nation’s fourth-toughest defense, allowing only 57.6 points per game.

But just because the Wolverines have been red-hot doesn’t mean they’ll cover the Michigan vs. Minnesota spread on Thursday.

The Gophers were stuck in a four-game losing streak before rolling Indiana 84-63 on Saturday. They got back to what was working, as Jordan Murphy had 23 points and 11 rebounds en route to Big Ten Player of the Week honors, and gunner Gabe Kalscheur hit six 3-pointers.

Minnesota played Michigan tough in Ann Arbor on Jan. 22, losing in buzzer-beating fashion despite getting just 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting from leading scorer Amir Coffey (15 points per game). This Minnesota vs. Michigan matchup is in the Twin Cities, where the Gophers are 12-2 on the season.

The Gophers are 7-4 against the spreads as an underdog, and when they face defense-first teams — squads that allow under 67 ppg — they’re 7-3 ATS.

So who wins Michigan vs. Minnesota? And which side of the spread can you bank on in more than 70 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Minnesota vs. Michigan spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $5,200 on its college basketball picks the past two years, and find out.