The Michigan State Spartans got off to a tough start to the Big Ten season when they were thrashed by Iowa and tested by Minnesota. They won't be the No. 1 ranked team in the land when they take on the Illinois Fighting Illini on Thursday, but that shouldn't stop them from getting back to their dominant ways.
You can bet on college basketball odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
HOW THE ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Illini really played their hearts out for the full 40 minutes at Ohio State on Sunday, but they just didn't have enough in them to finish the deal.
However, we clearly see what the formula is here for success in the Big Ten season. It's all fine and dandy to say that Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn have to be dominant, but on a day where they were held to just 9-for-28 shooting from the floor, it was Michael Finke and Jalen Coleman-Lands who stepped up and poured in 28 points between them, including seven three-pointers.
These two men are known as the third and fourth fiddles for the Illini, but they have to play roles, knocking down big shots with defenders in their face to keep this game interesting. If not, all of the pressure is going to be on Nunn and Hill, and that probably isn't going to work well against one of the best defensive teams in the Big Ten.
HOW THE MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Spartans have to get back to the basics of playing defensive basketball. They got out of sorts just a bit on the road against the Gophers and the Hawkeyes, and they were really pressed just before Christmas by an Oakland team which pushed the heck out of the tempo, but Illinois isn't going to do that. Possessions in fact, could be limited severely, and that might play right into Sparty's hands.
The question though, is who's stepping up with Denzel Valentine out?
Matt Costello has well exceeded his scoring and rebounding expectations with Valentine not on the floor, but ball handling is still a concern. Replacing those 7.1 assists per game out of a forward is virtually impossible.
The Spartans don't need one man to step up, though. A village can replace a superstar at this level against middling conference teams, especially in games played at home. If that means more passing from Eron Harris and Bryn Forbes, so be it, just so long as the offense is clean and shoots in the high-40 percent range.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Spartans have been really sloppy with the basketball in these last three games, barely posting a 1:1 assist to turnover ratio. We have to imagine that a long week of practice and getting back at home is going to change all of that, even with Valentine out of the lineup.
Throw together Illinois' recent strong game against Ohio State and the struggles for the Spartans, who are 0-3 ATS since Valentine went down, and we see the makings for a nice underlay here.
Let's not forget that the emotion should be high in East Lansing, as this is MSU's first home game since December 12. It'll be a nice one ending in a comfortable victory against a squad which won't have the horses to keep up offensively.
Michigan State 75, Illinois 59
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on your television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Michigan State Spartans is scheduled for Thursday, January 7, 2016 at 9:00 p.m. ET at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Catch the game live on ESPN.
