Michigan Basketball vs Purdue: Odds, a prediction and how to watch

Michigan basketball will look to stun Purdue on the road Saturday and here’s a look at the odds, as well as our prediction and how to watch. 

The last two times on the floor haven’t been great for the Michigan basketball team as the Wolverines were blown out by Michigan State and needed a late run to defeat lowly Nebraska, a team still without a win in Big Ten play.

Sitting at 5-4 in the conference and 11-8 overall, Michigan basketball is squarely on the bubble and right now, the Wolverines are on the outside looking in as far as the NCAA tournament is concerned.

The good news is that there’s still time to turn it around. Michigan probably needs to go 6-5 to feel good about where it stands. I’ve said all along that an 11-9 Big Ten record will get this team in. 10-10 could too but it will be dicey.

So Saturday’s game against Purdue (19-3, 8-3) provides a huge opportunity. Michigan basketball has good wins against Indiana (on the road) and San Diego State at home, but it needs more if the committee is going to invite U-M into the field of 68.

So let’s break down this matchup, look at the odds, and offer a prediction for Michigan basketball vs Purdue.

Michigan basketball vs Purdue odds

The Wolverines are big underdogs coming into this one and the Boilermakers are favored by nine points according to WynnBET. The over/under is 146 and the money line is -425 for Purdue and +325 for Michigan.

Michigan basketball vs Purdue Prediction

Purdue has been dominant this season and is easily the best offensive team in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers, who are ranked seventh according to Kenpom, have the No. 1 adjusted offense in the country.

Jaden Ivey (6-foot-4 guard) and big man Zach Edey (7-foot-4) lead the way for the Boilers and combine to score 32 points per game. Trevion Williams (6-foot-10) is another name to watch and as a team Purdue has seven rotation players shooting better than 40 percent from deep.

Of course, when you have two dominant bigs down low, those 3-point shot attempts are going to come as we have seen with Michigan this season.

One good thing for the Wolverines is they have the size to match up against Purdue with Hunter Dickinson, Moussa Diabate, and also Brandon Johns. Yet, those guys, especially Dickinson, have to avoid foul trouble or it’s game over for the Wolverines.

Dickinson is going to have to be special. There’s no question about it. But he was pretty good against Michigan State and it didn’t matter much.

Hunter is going to have to win one-on-one situations and the Wolverines would also be smart to utilize him in ball screens. This feels like one of those games where he will get some clean looks from the outside and he needs to hit a couple.

That and DeVante Jones needs to be stellar in the ball-screen game. He doesn’t necessarily have to score, in fact, Michigan is better when he shoots less and distributes, but guys around him and Dickinson have to make shots — here’s looking at you Caleb Houstan.

We thought Houstan has turned a corner but hasn’t played well the past two games. Eli Brooks and Terrance Williams need to hit shots too.

The defense also needs to play its best game of the year. The Boilermakers as Dylan Burkhardt of UM Hoops writes are deadly when it comes to off-ball actions.

"“Purdue’s offensive DNA presents a bit of good news/bad news for Michigan. The Wolverines have struggled to contain ball screens this season (26th percentile nationally) and have the size to defend post-ups (ranked 3rd in the Big Ten in points per game allowed from post-ups) but — and this is a very large caveat — they’ve been very poor defending off-ball screening actions. Michigan is allowing 1.3 points per play defensively (356th (!) nationally) against off-ball screens and is ranked last in the Big Ten in points allowed per game off screens.”"

Michigan has really struggled in these situations in large part because of youth. Transition defense was terrible against Michigan State and if the Wolverines can’t communicate and defend better through transitions and off-ball screens/actions, it will be a very long day in West Lafayette.

That being said, I expect a valiant effort from the Wolverines and Hunter Dickinson. They will play better than they did a week ago, this will be sort of like the Illinois game in terms of effort and intensity. Purdue wins but closer than expected 78-71.

Make your picks now at WynnBET!

What channel is the Michigan basketball game on?

Michigan basketball will play Purdue on Fox Sports at 2:30 PM EST/11:30 AM PST

Michigan basketball vs Purdue Live Stream

Today’s Michigan basketball game can be streamed on Fubo TV.