Big Ten foes meet in Bloomington

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2007 - Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time rivals will meet in Bloomington this afternoon, as 23rd-ranked Indiana and Michigan collide in a Big Ten Conference contest.

Michigan carried a two-game win streak into Wednesday's clash with Wisconsin, the top team in the league, and the result was a 71-55 setback. Still, the Wolverines are 16-5 overall and 4-2 in league play, and a win today would allow the club to inch closer to a spot in the national poll.

Like Michigan, Indiana is 4-2 against Big Ten opponents and has only lost five games all season. One of those defeats came on Tuesday, as the Hoosiers had a five-game win streak halted with a 51-43 setback to Illinois. The 43 points marked the worst offensive output of the season for Indiana, which is a perfect 10-0 at home heading into today's clash.

The Hoosiers own a 96-51 lead in the all-time series with Michigan, and the Hoosiers have won the last 10 meetings.

Michigan is not an explosive offensive team by any means, as the club is only averaging 66.8 ppg this season. Fortunately, the Wolverines have been outstanding at the defensive end of the floor, as they are limiting opponents to 58.0 ppg on 39.3 percent shooting from the field. Michigan is outrebounding foes by 7.3 rpg, and the positives mentioned have enabled the club to overcome an average of 15 turnovers per contest. Dion Harris is the leading scorer for the Wolverines, as he is netting 13.2 ppg despite his inconsistent shooting. Harris is also tops with 88 assists and 26 steals. Courtney Sims is scoring 12.1 ppg, and Lester Abram checks in with 9.6 ppg. In the 13-point loss to Wisconsin earlier this week, Sims scored 16 points to lead Michigan, but he was responsible for seven of the team's 19 giveaways. Abram tallied 10 points for the Wolverines, who permitted the Badgers to connect on 54.2 percent of their field goal attempts.

Indiana is scoring 72.2 ppg this season while limiting opponents to 60.2 ppg on 40.7 percent shooting from the floor. The Hoosiers have committed 50 fewer turnovers than their foes, but they have attempted 76 fewer free throws. D.J. White is the leading scorer for Indiana with 14.2 ppg, and he is tops with 7.3 rpg and 46 blocks as well. The only other double-digit scorer in the lineup is Roderick Wilmont, as he is posting 11.3 ppg. On Tuesday, the Hoosiers shot a lowly 38.6 percent from the floor, including 5-of-17 from three-point range. They were also outscored 13-4 from the foul line by Illinois, and those factors led to the eight-point setback. White scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but he got little help from his mediocre supporting cast.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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