The Michigan Wolverines will be on the road facing the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday afternoon, putting their five-game winning streak on the line. The Buckeyes are coming off a convincing 24-point victory on Wednesday; can they carry that over against Michigan, or will the win streak live on?
Find out below as we make our prediction for this intriguing Big Ten matchup and examine the spread, total, and money line bets.
Michigan vs. Ohio State Betting Preview
All Michigan vs. Ohio State odds are from Fanduel Sportsbook and are correct as of Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025.
- Spread
Ohio State -2.5 - CSN Spread
Michigan -5.5 - Moneyline
Ohio State -134, Michigan +112 - Over/Under
150.5 points - Game Time
Sunday, Feb. 16, 1 p.m. ET - Location
Schottenstein Center | Columbus, OH - How To Watch
CBS
The Wolverines come in with a 19-5 overall and 11-2 conference record, sitting alone in first place in the Big Ten. They’re 11-13 ATS this season but only 4-9 in conference play. In fact, they haven’t covered in their last eight games — the final margin has been within five points in seven of them.
Thirteen of Michigan’s 24 games have gone over the listed point total, including eight of 13 Big Ten contests. However, the under has been a successful play in four of their last five outings.
Ohio State brings a 7-7 conference record — good for eighth in the conference — and a 15-10 overall record. Similarly, they’re 15-10 ATS on the season with an even 50% cover-rate in conference games. The Buckeyes have covered four of their last five games and are 10-5 ATS as the favorite.
Scoring at a rate of nearly 80 points a game, 12 of Ohio State’s 25 games have reached the over. Only six of 14 games in the Big Ten have gone over — but the Buckeyes seem to be catching their stride of late, scoring 93 points in their last matchup.
Michigan vs. Ohio State CSN Power Rankings Line
Our rankings metric has the line at Michigan -5.5, a stark difference from Vegas’s line of -2.5. Our power rankings suggest why that might be, as the Wolverines are No. 10 while the Buckeyes are all the way down at No. 70.
The clear advantage, according to our metrics, point towards Michigan’s side of the line.
Preview for Michigan vs. Ohio State
While the Wolverines enter this game on a five-game winning streak, it’s come by an extremely close margin — they won those games by a total of 16 points. Their excellent play in clutch time has helped vault them into first place in the Big Ten.
Michigan is led by their seven-foot duo of centers, senior Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf. Goldin plays primarily down low, averaging 15.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 1.5 bpg. Wolf is a unicorn of sorts; at his height, his ability to move like a guard is unprecedented at the college level.
Wolf scores 12.8 ppg and is second on the team in passing at 3.6 apg. In addition to that, he leads the conference in boards, grabbing 10 rebounds a night. Junior guard Tre Donaldson provides stability on the perimeter, pouring in 12.9 ppg and a team-leading 4.2 apg.
The Buckeyes are led by the scoring punch of junior guard Bruce Thornton, who scores 17.3 ppg. He’s also leading the team in assists, averaging 4.3 apg. Forward Devin Royal is second on the team in scoring but has had a rough go as of late; he’s only scored 17 total points in his last three outings. The Buckeyes will need his usual 13.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg if they hope to down the Wolverines.
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Two other guards, freshman John Mobley Jr. and senior Micah Parrish average more than 12 points a night, adding scoring from the outside. Parrish has been hot lately, scoring a combined 51 points in the team’s last two games.
Best Bets and Final Score Prediction
The Buckeyes are fighting for their postseason lives, needing success over the final three weeks in order to ensure an NCAA Tournament bid. A win against the No. 20 Wolverines would go a long way towards making that happen — but it won’t be easy.
Ohio State’s two tallest starters are 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-6. How they handle the tandem of Goldin and Wolf will be interesting.
They’ve been tough to guard the entire season, but they’ve seemingly figured out how to win close games in conference play.
There’s plus-value with Michigan’s money line bet; at +112, that’s a solid bet considering they’re the first in the Big Ten.
Despite Michigan’s trend of going under during their winning streak, I expect this game to be fast-paced. The Buckeyes score nearly 80 points a game and don’t have a particularly stout defense.
We’ll take the over of 150.5 — it wouldn’t be surprising to see these teams scoring in the 80s.
I expect the Wolverines to win a high-scoring game, extending their win streak and strengthening their hold on the Big Ten standings — in turn, putting a damper on the Buckeyes’ tournament hopes.
Picks: Michigan +112, Over 150.5 points
Prediction: Michigan 84, Ohio State 79
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