The 2019-2020 college basketball season begins on Tuesday and it starts with the top four teams playing each other in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on ESPN. The first game has the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks taking on the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and is followed by the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans taking on the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats. Let’s look at the game between Michigan State and Kentucky and college basketball picks.
Don’t miss the action from Madison Square Garden at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. Catch every moment of the game live on ESPN.
We’ll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu for this and every game on the Tuesday college basketball schedule.
Michigan State Player to Watch
Is there any doubt about the player to watch for Michigan State? The Spartans have National Player of the Year candidate Cassius Winston leading them. Head coach Tom Izzo said that this year’s team is a serious national title contender and Winston is a big reason why. Despite Izzo’s great resume, his teams have only won the national title once, and that was in 2000. Last year’s squad made the Final Four but lost to Texas Tech. Winston was the Big Ten Player of the Year last season and he wasn’t even entirely healthy. If the Spartans are going to live up to their preseason ranking, Winston will have to deliver on a regular basis.
Kentucky Player to Watch
The Wildcats normally bring in a lot of freshmen each season and head coach John Calipari works his wonders and Kentucky is a national title contender. This year’s team doesn’t have to replace as many players as normal, as four key members of last year’s team return. Ashton Hagans has the potential to be one of the best point guards in the country. He needs to shoot the three better this season and make better decisions, but there is no denying his talent. The spotlight will be on Hagans and on freshman Tyrese Maxey who is supposed to be an instant star. In this case, there are two players to watch in Hagans and Maxey.
Key Stats
The Spartans are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 neutral site games. The Wildcats are 35-17-4 ATS in their last 56 neutral site games. The Wildcats are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Big Ten.
Looking at the total, the Under is 4-0 in the Spartans last 4 vs. the SEC. The Under is 4-0 in the Spartans last 4 neutral site games. The Under is 6-0 in the Wildcats last 6 non-conference games.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
The Spartans are going to be really good, but they might start the season a bit overvalued. It is also worth noting that they will not have Josh Langford who is out due to injury. Winston is a great player, but the loss of Langford will hurt MSU early in the season.
If there is one thing we know about Kentucky it is that they normally take a while to come together. This year’s team may not take as long as normal, as Calipari doesn’t have as many players to replace.
Michigan State is going to be listed as the favorite in this contest; the question is how high will oddsmakers make the line? I think Kentucky will have some value, but I would like to be getting at least six points. I’ll take the Wildcats to cover the spread in what I think will be a close contest.
College Basketball Odds: Michigan State 75, Kentucky 73
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