The Michigan State Spartans are playing some of the best basketball in the Big Ten. They've covered seven games in a row, and the argument could be made that they're set to make a move on the top line of the NCAA Tournament. They've still got two games to play against the Ohio State Buckeyes here in the regular season, the first of which comes Tuesday night in Columbus.
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HOW THE MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Spartans have been scoring at will of late thanks to the fact that Denzel Valentine has been dominant. He’s accounted for at least 45 points in each of his last three games between his points and his assists, and we just don't see a way that he doesn't do something similar in this one. It's not necessarily a prerequisite for Michigan State to cover this game, but it could end up being the difference in a really tough road game against a team which is basically playing for its season.
Though Michigan State has been winning games of late with its offensive execution, we know that it all starts on the defensive end of the floor. The Spartans hold teams to just 63.6 points per game, and they're one of the two teams in the nation who rank in the Top 10 in the land in both three-point shooting percentage allowed and field goal percentage allowed.
Ohio State has been known to struggle at times with some of the best defenses in the land, particularly here in the Big Ten, and if that turns out to be the case again in this one, Sparty will score another big win.
HOW THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
It's all really starting to come together for Ohio State on this four-game winning streak.
Gone are the days where Marc Loving had to do all the scoring for this team to win. In the game against Nebraska, for example, the Buckeyes put four of their five starters in double figures in scoring, and the fifth, Trevor Thompson, chipped in with 10 boards in just 18 minutes on the floor.
Of course, there are still some issues to be had here. The Buckeyes’ bench needs to at least contribute something to win and cover this one. Another game with no points between all of the bench players in 54 minutes as was the case against Nebraska would be a recipe for a blowout loss against a very deep MSU outfit.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
As well as the Spartans have recently been playing, we'll take our chances with the Buckeyes Tuesday night. This game means infinitely more for OSU than MSU, and we think that's going to show.
What shouldn't be lost in all of this is that the Buckeyes have been pretty dominant at home in going 10-5-1 ATS, including covering four of their last five here in Big Ten play.
Michigan State might be winning games, but we're not all that impressed with what we see outside of Valentine. If the Buckeyes can get a well-rounded effort again out of their whole roster, they'll win this game and put themselves firmly into the bubble discussion.
Ohio State 68, Michigan State 64
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so starting betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Michigan State Spartans and the Ohio State Buckeyes will go down on Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at 9:00 p.m. ET at Value City Arena. You can watch the game live on ESPN.
