The game of the year in college basketball takes place Saturday night in Washington, D.C.
It will be the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines (-2.5, 148.5) taking on the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils, and this game could be an early preview of a Final Four matchup that we end up seeing in early spring.
Michigan is 25-1 on the year and putting together one of the more dominant regular seasons in recent memory. It just beat No. 7 Purdue on the road by double digits, a game Michigan led by as many as 20 points.
Duke is no pushover, however, as the Blue Devils just demolished Syracuse by 37 points, improving to 24-2 on the season.
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If you’re of the belief that Duke wins this game, betting the Blue Devils to win the national title at +700 odds (a $10 bet pays $80 total) is probably a good idea because those odds will certainly adjust down if they do win on Saturday night.
Even if they lose, it’s a forgivable loss considering the opponent and the +700 odds will likely stay within that range — barring a huge blowout or a big injury for the Blue Devils.
Since this is a neutral-court game, the under 148.5 might be a good way to attack this one as well. Scoring is often tougher for teams when they play in an unfamiliar arena (as is the case here) due to a shooting backdrop that the players are not accustomed to.
I’m going to keep it simple and go with Michigan to win the game and cover the -2.5.
The dominant Wolverines have not been beaten away from home this season. They have excelled in non-conference play, beating both Gonzaga and San Diego State by 40 points each, Villanova by 28 and Auburn by 30.
Those are all teams that have the caliber to make the NCAA Tournament.
Duke is certainly a major step up in class from those opponents, but Michigan’s size and depth, I think, is enough to nudge the Wolverines into the win column in what should be an electric atmosphere on Saturday evening.
PICK: Michigan (-2.5) to win by more than 2.5 points
