The Michigan State Spartans have been building to this all year. Michigan State was seen as one of the top two teams coming into the year, along with Duke, but struggled to find its rhythm and ended up as a No. 3 seed instead of a No. 1. The Spartans did manage to win the Big Ten regular season title, but a loss in the Big Ten semifinals submarined any chances of a higher slot.
Now, Sparty must take on a dangerous team in the Bucknell Bison. Bucknell knocked off Kansas as a No. 14 seed a little over a decade ago, and they gave West Virginia all it could handle as a No. 13 seed last year. The Bison rise to the occasion in March.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, March 16, 2018, at 7:10 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The game will be televised live on CBS. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game throughout March Madness.
Opening NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Bucknell +15
Michigan State -15
Over/Under 147.5
After going 9-7 in non-conference play, Bucknell dominated the Patriot League in order to pick up its second straight conference title. The Bison were easily the best team in the conference all year long and the oddsmakers knew it. After struggling with Loyola-Maryland in its first tournament game, Bucknell pounded Boston University and Colgate in the next two rounds and easily covered both games as a double-digit favorite per the CBB betting odds.
Michigan State left you wanting more all season. Although the team finished 29-4, some narrow victories against soft competition led to the Spartans getting the seed it deserved despite winning nine of their last ten.
Player to Watch
The key to Bucknell’s success this season has been the play of Zach Thomas. Thomas has had a phenomenal senior campaign and was a threat to put up a double-double in every game. He led the team with 20.3 PPG and 9.2 RPG, but what made him truly special was his ability to get to the line.
No player went to the free throw line more than Thomas this season. He has taken an incredible 299 free throws on the year, 16 more than the next closest athlete. Although he is an undersized forward, he plays with a lot of toughness and draws a ton of contact. The Spartans are a team that has ran into foul trouble at a few points this season, and Thomas will look to take advantage.
Matchup to Watch
Michigan State has an abundance of options on the offensive end and it will be kind of a pick your poison for Bucknell. The Spartans are one of a handful of teams that are shooting better than 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc, and they can punish you in a number of ways.
The play of Nick Ward and Miles Bridges in the paint has freed things up for everybody else. Both players see a lot of attention when they have the ball in the block, and that usually means someone is open for a three. Bucknell might have a hard time stopping this inside-outside game.
Free March Madness ATS Picks
We’ve been waiting to see more out of Michigan State all season. Will the Spartans finally give it to us now that it’s tournament time? The Spartans are playing a virtual home game, and they will have a very partisan crowd at their backs urging them on in this one.
I think this is the time the Spartans finally let loose. Bridges will want to show that he can shut down Thomas, and the rest of the team will pick it up in a comfortable win for Michigan State.
NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds: Michigan State 84, Bucknell 67
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