BIG Ten foes clash in Thursday Night Action - Preview, Pick and Props!

The Big Ten has two games of note happening on Thursday Night, as Michigan travels to Northwestern and Ohio State hosts Wisconsin. We’ll take a look at both games.

Michigan @ Northwestern

After a 22-point bludgeoning at the hands of Penn State, Michigan is looking to right the ship a bit against Northwestern in hopes of avoiding its first three-game losing streak in over a year. Northwestern, on the other hand, has won 10 of its last 14 en route to a 15-6 record so far on the year. Since these two teams last met, an 85-78 win for Michigan, the two teams have headed in opposite directions. Since that defeat, Northwestern has won three of its last four while Michigan has lost three out of four in the same time frame. Currently trending toward missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, Michigan desperately needs to turn things around. Conversely, Northwestern looks to solidify its tournament resume in hopes of earning a ticket to the big dance for only the second time in school history. 

Despite losing to Michigan earlier in the season, we expect Northwestern to get the job done this time. The key could come down to Chase Audige. Despite not being the Wildcats leading scorer on the season, Audige has led his team in scoring in 10 of Northwestern’s 21 games. When he’s scoring, it comes in bunches with a high of 28 this season against Depaul. Audige averages 15.7 points per game, yet was held to only eight in these team’s first matchup. Since then, the senior guard hasn’t dropped below double digits including a 24 point game on Saturday. Now on his home floor, where his splits are slightly better, averaging two more points per game, look for Audige to be the difference tonight. 

Pick: Northwestern -3.5

Total: Under 139.5 points

Team Total: Northwestern over 70.5 points

Prop: Chase Audige over 15.5 points

Wisconsin @ Ohio State

Both Wisconsin and Ohio State are happy to flip the calendar to a new month after the two teams combined for just four wins in 17 games in January. Wisconsin rolls into Columbus having lost three straight while the Buckeyes have lost their last two and seven of their last eight. Currently, ESPN has Wisconsin as one of the “first four out” and Ohio State as one of the “next four out” when it comes to making the NCAA Tournament.

After winning 10 of its first 13 games to start the year, Ohio State’s season completely unraveled after a two-point loss to No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 5. Since narrowly missing the upset, the Buckeyes have won just one game. This hasn’t been from a lack of output by freshman Brice Sensabaugh, who’s averaged over 20 points per game since the slide began. Now, the freshman just needs some help as he tries to save the Buckeyes season and keep them in the tournament picture. Ohio State hasn’t missed the NCAA Tournament since 2017, but are in jeopardy of doing just that if its slide continues. 

With both teams in a massive slump, someone has to win. We’re expecting Ohio State to be the one to stop the bleeding, at least for a night.

Pick: Ohio State -7.5

Total: Over 132.5 points

Team Total: Ohio State over 69.5 points

Prop: Brice Sensabaugh over 18.5 points