The Michigan State Spartans continue to play like national title contenders, with a recent win over fellow power Purdue the latest evidence. Despite a No. 2 national ranking they still trail Ohio State by a game in the Big Ten standings and would love to overtake the Buckeyes for the conference’s regular season title. Michigan State can keep the pressure on by winning its game against the Northwestern Wildcats this week.
The Spartans must hit the road, which is never easy in conference, but there is such a talent discrepancy that Northwestern will still be a significant home underdog. Michigan State seems on track to grab a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a strong finish and hopes to continue its long winning streak by knocking off Northwestern in this one.
At 2 p.m. ET, tune into CBS for live television coverage of this FOX basketball game on Saturday, February 17, 2018, at the Welsh-Ryan Arena.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Michigan State is 24-3 straight up and 13-12-2 against the spread. The Spartans have not been great on the road this season, going just 1-4-1 against the spread. Michigan State has been favored in every game it has played this season and that will remain the case in this one.
Northwestern is 15-11 straight up and 11-13 against the spread. The Wildcats have gone 7-5 against the spread at home on the season. They have covered in four of 11 attempts as the underdog.
Key Stat
Three. That’s how many times Northwestern has lost to a ranked opponent. The Wildcats are 1-3 against Top 25 teams this season and will face their toughest test yet against Michigan State this weekend.
Northwestern was blown out by No. 17 Oklahoma in its first matchup against a ranked opponent this season, losing 107-78 to the Sooners on December 22nd. The Wildcats had a much stronger showing against No. 22 Ohio State on January 17th, losing 71-65 at home.
They fell 58-47 to No. 24 Michigan on January 29th, but got the better of the Wolverines in a rematch last week. Northwestern defeated Michigan 61-52 in the most recent meeting between the two squads and will look to draw on that victory as they take on the Spartans in this one.
Player to Watch
Miles Bridges – The sophomore guard is the leading scorer for Michigan State this year, and remains one of the most valuable pieces on a very balanced and very talented Spartan offense. Bridges is averaging 17.8 points and 7.1 rebounds a game this year.
He finished with 20 points in his team’s 68-65 win over No. 3 Purdue last weekend and had 25 against Iowa last week. Bridges matched his career high back in December, finishing with 33 points against Houston Baptist.
He might be capable of putting up some bigger numbers, but he is surrounded by several strong shooters this year on a team that leads the nation in assists. As a unit, the Spartan offense is shooting 51.6 percent from the field and averaging 83.1 points per game.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
Michigan State has proven to be an elite team for yet another season under Tom Izzo. Northwestern has remained competitive against ranked opponents in conference play and the home court should give it a chance to hang around.
In the end, though, the Spartans will be too strong and should claim the victory. The Wildcats could be the right choice to cover, though, if the spread for this one gives Michigan State too much credit. The game might be lower-scoring than expected, which means the “under” is the correct choice.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: Michigan State 70, Northwestern 64
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