Louisville With the Home Edge vs Michigan

They’ve gone about it in vastly different ways, but the Michigan Wolverines and Louisville Cardinals both carry perfect 7-0 records into Tuesday’s marquee Big Ten/ACC Challenge showdown in Kentucky. Michigan is coming off an impressive tournament victory at the Battle 4 Atlantis, while the Cardinals have squashed lesser opposition and will face a much stiffer test Tuesday.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Cardinals opened as 6.5-point favorites in what could arguably be the biggest game of the early college basketball season; the line moved to -5.5 in some spots. Similarly, the Sportsbook total of 141 has risen a point at select sportsbooks.

Michigan News & Notes

The Wolverines made the perfect Sportsbook-season statement in the Bahamas last week, racking up impressive victories over powerhouses Gonzaga and North Carolina to stake their claim as one of the top teams in the country. Even more impressively, the Wolverines limited the Bulldogs and Tar Heels to just 64 points apiece – the lowest output of the season for either school.

Solid defense has been a trademark of this year’s edition of the Wolverines, who have held five of their first seven opponents below 70 points. On offense, Michigan boasts four players averaging double digits in scoring – led by standout forward Isaiah Livers, who averages 17.0 points per game while shooting better than 51 percent from three-point range.

Louisville News & Notes

The Cardinals haven’t faced an opponent of stature since cruising to an 87-74 season-Sportsbook win over the Hurricanes in Miami – but that hasn’t prevented Louisville from ascending to the top of the national rankings. The Cardinals boast an average margin of victory of better than 20 points so far this season, the ninth-highest mark in Division I.

The Cardinals rely on their own sharpshooter to pace the offense, with forward Jordan Nwora looking like one of the top players in the ACC through Louisville’s Sportsbook seven games. Nwora is averaging a team-best 21.9 points while shooting better than 50 percent from the field and from three-point range and a sensational 90 percent from the free-throw line.

Betting Pick: Louisville -6.5

Home-court advantage looms large in a matchup between two of the top teams in the country; we like the Cardinals to cover, but it won’t be easy.