Big Ten Basketball: Buy or Sell Maryland, Purdue, Michigan and MSU

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 08: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with his team during the second half at Breslin Center on January 08, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 77-59. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – FEBRUARY 09: Isaiah Livers #4 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates after a 61-52 win in front of Nate Reuvers #35 of the Wisconsin Badgers at Crisler Arena on February 09, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Michigan Wolverines – Buy

Michigan made the National Title game last year. They lost three really key players from that team. But they couldn’t have asked for a better way to follow up. Michigan was putting away non-conference opponents early this season. They started the season ranked 19th. After two weeks, Michigan hasn’t left the top-10.

There was the rematch of the National Championship game, where Villanova blew out Michigan. The Wolverines turned the tables in the Gavitt Games. They tore apart Providence on a neutral court and then beat North Carolina by 17 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. They followed that up with a 19-point performance against Purdue who was ranked 19th at the time. Now the Boilermakers are being seeded at three.

The winning streak ran all the way up to 17 games. Michigan put their undefeated season on the line against Wisconsin in Madison on a Saturday morning. The Badgers found a way to shut down Ignas Brazdeikis, the shooters got cold and Jon Teske can’t carry the team by himself. So Wisconsin pulled the 10-point upset.

In a way, it was a good thing that they got the loss out of the way. Michigan responded in the best way. The Wolverines took down Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio State. They lost to Iowa on the road to a hot Hawkeyes team who was searching for a signature win. The Wolverines got another pair if wins, including a revenge win over Wisconsin. But they did to lose Penn State which makes no sense. But that’s life on the road in the Big Ten.

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All three losses have come to Big Ten opponents on the road. Losing to Wisconsin and Iowa aren’t bad, but to the Nittany Lions isn’t good. Brazdeikis has cooled off in the last month. He still has had a couple 20-point games, but his youth is starting to show. Charles Matthew has been the answer. Matthews is averaging over 17 points per game in the last three. They also need shooters to show up. When Jordan Poole and others are feeling it, Michigan can be very lethal. They have a great balance to their team.

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