While some of the nation’s best teams begin their conference schedule this weekend, Saturday’s most exciting showdown figures to feature the No.8 Michigan State Spartans and the No.14 Ohio State Buckeyes in a Big Ten showdown.
The two teams bring different styles of play to the court with the Spartans a fast-paced, high-scoring offensive team and the Buckeyes averaging nearly 10 fewer PPG, but boasting a superior defense that has allowed them to rank amongst the top teams in the country despite a lower PPG total than most of the other top teams.
Can Ohio State’s defense hold up at home against the high powered Spartans? Or will Michigan State speed the pace of the game up enough to nab a road victory over their conference foes?
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Michigan State Spartans vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
Date and Time: Saturday, January 5, 2019, 12 p.m. ET
Location: Valley City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Spartans vs. Buckeyes TV Coverage: FOX
The Spartans had a rough matchup out of the gate against Kansas and ended up losing that game, 87-92, to the preseason No.1 team.
Michigan State, however, did keep the game close against the Jayhawks in the Champions Classic and the proceeded to string together five straight wins before their second loss of the season to Louisville, Since then, this team has won six straight heading into Wednesday.
In the most recent game, the Spartans toppled Northern Illinois 88-60. It was the third straight game scoring at least 88, but during the latest winning streak, Michigan State has shown it can win the high scoring games and the defensive matchups, toppling Florida 63-59 back in early December.
The Spartans have a very strong backcourt in Cassius Winston and Joshua Langford. Winston leads the team in scoring with 17.5 PPG though Langford is another strong shooter. The team as a whole is shooting over 40-percent from the perimeter. Overall, the squad is sinking more than half of its shots.
Michigan State also boasts a very strong frontcourt in Nick Ward, Xavier Tillman and Kenny Goins. Ward is the big scoring threat inside with his ability to post up inside. He’s sinking more than a third of his shots and is a strong defensive player as well with 6.3 RPG and 1.3 BPG. Tillman and Goins are the better players on the boards.
None of the three are particularly tall for the position, but Goins and Tillman have combined for 17.4 RPG and 3 BPG, playing up much bigger than their actual heights.
On the other side of this matchup, the Buckeyes come into play scoring 10 fewer PPG, notching seven fewer RPG and generally averaging lower numbers across the board as Ohio State plays a much slower-paced, lower possession game.
The style has been effective for the home team as they’re 12-1 so far this season and have six straight wins since they lost by 10 to Syracuse back in late November.
While the Buckeyes do have the better record, they haven’t exactly been tested in the same way as Michigan State who will be ready for a tough matchup on the road against a ranked opponent. The Spartans have already faced Kansas and other ranked opponents like Iowa. This matchup for Ohio State will be the toughest to date for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State can certainly matchup with Michigan State on the outside. The backcourt is stacked with C.J. Jackson leading the way. He’s not a particularly great shot, but he’s got 13.6 PPG and 3.8 APG while Luther Muhammad is a better shoot and Keyshawn Woods is a solid player himself, shooting well enough and amassing 3.4 APG.
On the outside, it’s basically the Wesson brothers, namely just Kaleb Wesson. Wesson leads the team in scoring with 16.5 PPG and is tops in rebounds, too, with 6.8 per contest.
Live Betting
Watch the pace of play in this game early. Ohio State will try to slow it down and keep position with their play in the backcourt. Michigan State has the advantage inside and will try and exploit that. Look to see if the Buckeyes can keep the ball on the perimeter most of the time or if Ward and company are successful getting the ball to the hoop in the paint.
The Spartans, of course, have shown the ability to win close, lower-scoring games, but Michigan State’s biggest advantage in this one is its offense, driven heavily by a superior collection of forwards.
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Key Player
It’s easy to point to a team’s leading scorer as the key player, but in this case it’s true that Kaleb Wesson is crucial for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes needs to compete inside the paint and Wesson is the key to that. The sophomore forwards is the leader inside the paint and while his ability to put points on the board is paramount, his rebounding prowess will be just as important.
Michigan State has more in the frontcourt and is averaging seven more rebounds per contest. Ohio State will need to compete for rebounds and not allow a Michigan State team with better than 50-percent shooting mark from the floor too many extra opportunities, particularly with too many easy offensive rebounds.
Ohio State doesn’t have the personnel to depend on many key blocks. Instead, they need to find the rebounds and that starts with Wesson and his 6.8 RPG though Kyle Young and Andre Wesson are key in that, too.
Spartans vs. Buckeyes Live Betting
Look for the Spartans to eek out a victory on the road against Ohio State. Both teams come into play with a winning streak so something has to give and while the Buckeyes do get the advantage of playing at home, Michigan State is more proven against ranked opponents to this point.
Ohio State doesn’t rank overly favorable according to KenPom and the team’s lone loss on the year was a home game against a suspect Syracuse team, causing question about how much of an edge playing at home will be on Saturday.
Count on the Spartans winning the battle of the boards while also outshooting the Buckeyes. Michigan State’s offense should pull this one.
Be sure to check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Michigan State 83, Ohio State 77
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