-Props3.jpg)
Michigan State and Michigan are both in the thick of the Big Ten race heading into their rivalry game. And plenty is on the line – bragging rights, league standings and NCAA tournament resumes. They had better make it count in the only meeting of the season between the two.
You can bet on college basketball odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
HOW THE MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
After three consecutive wins, Michigan State has reached a break in its schedule, and the Spartans will have five days off before facing rival Michigan on Saturday. MSU has climbed back into the top 10 and appears to have gotten its groove back.
Despite Michigan State’s ability to scorch the nets from the three-point line of late, the Spartans need to go back to the paint for their contest with Michigan. Sparty dropped 16 threes on Northwestern and followed that with a school-record tying 17 last Sunday against Rutgers. The Wolverines tend to play small-ball with four guards, one of which is 6-foot-8 Duncan Robinson. This defensive alignment could prove to be problematic for MSU.
Should Michigan stick with its small-ball lineup, they won’t be able to contain Matt Costello and Deyonta Davis down low. The Wolverines just don’t have the bodies or talent on the inside to throw at a team as big as the Spartans or to match up with players as skilled as Costello and Davis. Since the start of Big Ten play, Costello has averaged 12.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and has increased his field goal percentage to 54.6 percent.
HOW THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Michigan saw its four-game winning streak come to a screeching halt on Tuesday with an 80-67 thumping at the hands of Indiana. It was an alarming result considering how well the Wolverines had been playing. Now, they have to put that loss behind them and get ready for the rival Spartans, and I doubt that will be a problem.
The Wolverines have learned to play, and win, without Caris LeVert, who took 17.6 points and senior leadership with him to the bench for the last nine games due to a lower left leg injury. He’s getting closer to a return and soon would work for the Wolverines, who could use his skill set and depth at the guard/forward spots, especially against the Spartans perimeter players.
Zak Ervin and Derrick Walton Jr. have picked up their games in LeVert’s absence, both on and off the court. The two have become vocal leaders while continuing to make an impact on the court. Michigan can score the basketball and a key during its four-game win streak was defense. UM limited opponents to 26.4 percent shooting from three-point range during the streak and must contain the Spartans from beyond the arc.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Spartans have fallen in love with the three-point shot, and why not after making 33 over the last two games. But Michigan State has an imposing front line with Costello and Davis, although the two have taken a back seat to the long-ball exploits of Denzel Valentine and Eron Harris. And the inside-outside threat of MSU presents matchup problems for the Wolverines. If they go small to defend the three, Costello and Davis will roam unmolested in the paint. If the defense collapses, Sparty will get open looks. Michigan’s Mark Donnal and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman are the X-factors in this one. They need to be disruptive defending the three, which they’ve been decent at most of the season, but also have to be secondary scoring options to give the Wolverines a shot.
Michigan State 76, Michigan 73
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the Michigan State Spartans and Michigan Wolverines will go down Saturday, February 6, 2016 at 2 p.m. ET at the Crisler Center. The matchup will be televised live on CBS.
