Michigan, Dickinson Favored To Win Big Ten, Are Near Top Of NCAA Title Odds

In 2021, the University of Michigan made a remarkable comeback in the college basketball national title race. They secured a spot in the Elite Eight, earned a top seed, and gained favorable odds in the NCAA Tournament, thrusting them back into contention for the championship.

Is it possible to anticipate similar performance from the Wolverines in the upcoming 2021-22 season? Juwan Howard has managed to instill confidence in oddsmakers regarding his team’s potential.

Michigan a top NCAA odds contender at sportsbooks

In both the Associated Press Top 25 and Coaches Poll, Michigan has been ranked No. 6 as the season commences.

It seems that oddsmakers hold an even greater opinion of the Wolverines.

BetMGM Sportsbook has listed Michigan as one of the top contenders to win the NCAA Tournament this year, with odds set at +1200, which is tied for the second-shortest. The current favorite is Gonzaga at +600, while UCLA and Villanova share the same odds as Michigan at +1200.

BetMGM reports that Michigan is receiving the highest number of tickets for national championship wagers. Specifically, Michigan is acquiring 13.5% of the tickets, while only accounting for 10.5% of the handle.

At the sportsbook, Memphis (+1800) is leading with the highest handle, accounting for 25.4% of the bets. Only the Tigers and Wolverines fall within the 10%+ range for handle.

According to BetMGM, Michigan is currently the frontrunner in the Big Ten Conference race with odds of +250 to win the regular-season title. Purdue closely follows at +300, while Ohio State is listed at +450. Michigan State, their in-state rival, has longer odds at +900.

Juwan Howard on a fast trajectory

Juwan Howard is embarking on his third season at his former college.

Michigan’s 2019-20 season, which was unfortunately curtailed by the COVID-19 outbreak, resulted in a 19-12 overall record and a 10-10 record in the Big Ten.

Howard was awarded the AP Coach of the Year title last year for guiding Michigan to an impressive 23-5 record, including a notable 14-3 performance in the highly competitive Big Ten conference.

Michigan’s dominant performance in the NCAA Tournament saw them effortlessly secure victories against Texas Southern, LSU, and Florida State. Their remarkable journey led them to the East Regional final, but unfortunately, they fell victim to the upset trend caused by No. 11 seed UCLA. Nonetheless, this marked Michigan’s fourth appearance in the Elite Eight since 2013.

Hunter Dickinson leads returning class

In the upcoming 2021-22 season, Michigan will face the challenge of filling certain positions, yet they managed to dodge a major worry during the offseason as Hunter Dickinson made the decision to come back for his sophomore year.

Last season, the 7-foot-1 center was recognized as the Big Ten Conference’s freshman of the year and achieved second-team All-American status. Throughout his freshman year, Dickinson maintained impressive statistics with an average of 14.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. His field goal percentage stood at 59.8%, and he exhibited proficiency at the free-throw line with a 74% success rate.

Dickinson, as per BetMGM, is positioned as one of the top contenders for the prestigious 2024 Wooden Award, bestowed upon the nation’s best player. With odds set at +800, Dickinson trails only the co-favorites, Drew Timme from Gonzaga and Paolo Banchero from Duke.

According to BetMGM, Dickinson currently holds 4.9% of the Wooden Award tickets, while only having 1% of the handle. On the other hand, Trayce Jackson-Davis from Indiana (+2000) has garnered 12.2% of the tickets and an impressive 46.2% of the handle.

Top recruiting class aims to replace scoring loss

Despite Dickinson’s return for this season, Michigan has bid farewell to four of its next five top scorers due to the NBA Draft.

Isaiah Livers, Franz Wagner, Mike Smith, and Chaundee Brown all departed to explore new opportunities, resulting in a collective loss of 42.6 points per game from the team’s roster. Additionally, Austin Davis, who contributed an average of 5.4 points, has also graduated.

Apart from Dickinson and senior guard Eli Brooks, there is a dearth of experience. Brooks contributed an average of 9.5 points and 3.1 assists per game, with an impressive 3-point shooting percentage of nearly 40%.

For the 2021 class, Michigan has secured a top-ranked recruiting class comprising of six talented individuals.

Canadian forward Caleb Houston (6-8) and French power forward Moussa Diabate (6-10) spearhead the group, with guards Kobe Bufkin (6-4) and Frankie Collins (6-1) also making the cut in the ESPN Top 100 for their class.

In addition, the senior transfer point guard DeVante’ Jones joins the team this season. Jones arrives from Coastal Carolina, where he boasted impressive stats of 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.8 steals per game during the previous season.

UNC highlights nonconference slate

The 2021-22 season for Michigan commences on November 10th with a home game against Buffalo.

On November 13, the Wolverines will be participating in the Coaches vs. Racism event at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. However, their opponent for the game will be Prairie View A&M, making their nonconference schedule quite intriguing.

On November 16, U-M will also have a home game against Seton Hall as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Following that, on November 20-21, U-M will participate in the Roman Main Event, where they will go up against UNLV and either Arizona or Wichita State.

As of now, the most anticipated nonconference game on the schedule is the ACC-Big Ten Challenge matchup against North Carolina, set to take place on December 1st.

Once again, conference play will prove to be challenging for the Wolverines as the Big Ten is expected to remain a premier conference in the nation. The period from Jan. 8-18 will present the team with their toughest stretch of games.

During that period, Michigan’s schedule includes hosting MSU on January 8th and Purdue on January 11th, followed by a trip to Illinois on January 14th, and finally hosting Maryland on January 18th.