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College Basketball

Friday’s Tip Sheet

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
4 minute read
The final Friday night of college basketball betting action in the month of January features a doubleheader of early starts with a nationally ranked team trying to win on the road.

The Big Ten’s No. 5 Michigan Wolverines face a stern road test against the Indiana Hoosiers, while the Mid-American Conference’s No. 14 Buffalo Bulls try and bounce back from their first conference loss of the season in a road game against Kent State.

Opening Odds -

No. 5 Michigan Wolverines at Indiana Hoosiers (FOX Sports 1, 6:30 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: Michigan -3 ½, Total 133

Betting Matchup

The Wolverines followed up their first straight-up loss of the year with a shaky 59-57 victory at home against Minnesota on Tuesday night as 12 ½-point favorites. Last Saturday’s 64-54 road loss to Wisconsin as 3 ½-point favorites stayed UNDER 126 points and the total also stayed UNDER Tuesday’s 137 ½-point closing line.

Michigan is 18-1 SU with a 7-1 record in Big Ten play. It has gone 9-10 against the spread overall while covering in five of eight conference games. The Wolverines remain one of the top defensive teams in the nation with a points-allowed average of 57.1.

Indiana will be looking to avenge a 74-63 loss to Michigan on Jan. 6 as a nine-point road underdog. This marked the start of a SU five-game skid while going 1-5 ATS in its last six games. The Hoosiers are coming off Tuesday’s 73-66 road loss to Northwestern as slight 1 ½-point underdogs.

In the first game against the Wolverines, Indiana fell behind by 15 points at the half and never closed the gap. Senior forward Juwan Morgan (16.5 PPG) scored 25 points and the Hoosiers’ leading scorer freshman guard Romeo Langford (17.6 PPG) added 17 points in the losing cause.

Betting Trends

-- The Wolverines have a 21-8-1 record ATS over their last 30 road games and they have covered in four of their last five games following a SU win. The total has gone OVER in their last four Friday games.

-- The Hoosiers are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games coming off a SU loss, but they have covered in 15 of their last 22 home games. The total has stayed UNDER in six of their last seven games played at home.

-- The underdog has covered in seven of the last 10 meetings with the total going OVER in seven of the last 10 meetings at Indiana.

No. 14 Buffalo Bulls at Kent State Golden Flashes (CBS Sports Network, 6:30 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: Buffalo -10, Total 158 ½

Betting Matchup

The Bulls started catching national attention early in the season with quality wins against West Virginia and Syracuse closing as underdogs. Their SU five-game winning streak in the MAC came to an end on Tuesday night with a stunning 77-75 road loss to Northern Illinois as nine-point favorites.

Buffalo (17-2 SU) has failed to cover in its last three games as part of an overall record of 11-6-1 ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in four of its last six games. As part of a trio of players averaging at least 14 PPG, senior guard CJ Massinburg continues to lead the way with 18.1 point a game. He scored 23 points in Tuesday’s loss after posting 31 points in a win against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 18.

Kent State has been able to keep pace near the top of the MAC standings at 4-2 (SU and ATS) in its first six conference games. It is 15-4 SU overall following Tuesday’s 87-85 overtime victory against Toledo as a three-point home underdog.

The Golden Flashes improved to 10-7 ATS overall after covering the closing number in their last three games and the total has gone OVER in four of their first six conference games. Senior guard Jaylin Walker went off for 31 points against Northern Illinois last Saturday ahead of 36-point performance on Tuesday night that helped Kent State erase a 17-point deficit.

Betting Trends

-- The Bulls are 20-9-1 ATS in their last 30 games following a SU loss and they have covered in seven of their last 10 conference games. The total has stayed UNDER in four of their last five games against a SU winning team.

-- The Golden Flashes have gone just 2-5-2 ATS in their last nine Friday games, but they have covered in five of their last seven games against a SU winning team. The total has gone OVER in six of their last eight home games.

-- Kent State has covered in four of the last five meetings with the total staying UNDER in five of the last six matchups.


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