Two of the best defensive teams in the country square off
with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line on Thursday when No. 2 seed
Michigan squares off against No. 3 seed Texas Tech. Tipoff from the
Honda Center is at 9:39 p.m. ET.



Click Here NOW: College Basketball March Madness 2019 LIVE

The Wolverines enter Thursday's 2019 Sweet 16 matchup having won six of
their last eight games, while the Red Raiders have gone 11-1 in their
last 12. Vegas lists the Wolverines as 1.5-point favorites, with the
over-under for total points set at 126.5 in the latest Michigan vs.
Texas Tech odds. Before you make any Michigan vs. Texas Tech picks and
2019 NCAA Tournament predictions, see what SportsLine analyst Matt
Norlander is picking.Norlander is a national award-winning writer for
CBS Sports who has covered college basketball since 2007. From
insightful features to weekly game analysis, Norlander covers the sport
from every angle. He also co-hosts the popular CBS Sports College
Basketball Podcast.And he has developed a knack for picking Texas Tech
basketball, made evident by his 3-0 run picking for or against the Red
Raiders. Earlier this season, he told readers to take Texas Tech (-4.5)
against TCU, saying Texas Tech's defense would be too much for the
Horned Frogs to handle. The result: Texas Tech 84, TCU 65 - Norlander
nailed exactly how the game would go. Anybody following his picks is up
big right now.Now, he has analyzed Texas Tech vs. Michigan from every
possible angle and locked in a confident against-the-spread selection.
It's only available at SportsLine.Norlander knows Michigan boasts one
the nation's stingiest defenses. The Wolverines are holding their
opponents to just 58.2 points per game, which ranks second in the
country. John Beilein's team is also holding their opponents to an
abysmal 39.9 field goal percentage.On offense, Michigan's Ignaz
Brazdeikis, Jordan Poole and Charles Matthews are all averaging over 12
points per game and shooting 43 percent or better from the field. That's
because their focus is on shot quality on offense, which allows the
Wolverines to get high-quality looks.But just because the Wolverines
boast a stingy defense and efficient offense doesn't mean they'll cover
the Michigan vs. Texas Tech spread on Thursday.Norlander also knows the
Red Raiders are one of the hottest teams in the country, going 11-1
straight-up and 10-2 against-the-spread in their last 12 games. In their
last game against Buffalo, the Red Raiders had two players record
double-doubles and five score at least 10 points. Texas Tech is also
strong on the defensive end. In fact, they're giving up just 59.2 points
per game this season, good for third nationally. We can tell you
Norlander is leaning over, but his much stronger play is on the spread.
He's found a critical x-factor that makes one side of the spread hit
hard on Thursday. He's only sharing what it is, and who to back, at
SportsLine.