For the first time in two years, Michigan State will take the basketball court as the nation’s No. 1 team on Thursday when the Spartans welcome Big Ten rival Maryland. Sparty has scored at least 102 points in its past four games and is a big betting favorite in the College Basketball odds for Thursday night.
Sophomore guard Anthony Cowan Jr. led Maryland with 18 points, including a pair of free throws with 21.4 seconds left to build the lead to four. Freshman center Bruno Fernando finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first double. The Terps also committed a season-low five turnovers against a team that leads the Big Ten in steals. They also got to the foul line 34 times and made 23 of those free throws, which ultimately decided the game.
“Every night is going to be a challenge for us … even if Michigan State played three nights in a row and they played us, it wouldn’t matter,” Coach Mark Turgeon said after the win. “They’re a heck of a team. We’ve got to be ready. They’re playing at a high level right now. We have to figure out a way to keep the game at a pace we’re comfortable with.”
Maryland at Michigan State Thursday Night College Basketball Odds
When: Thursday, 8 PM ET Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing, Mich. TV: Fox Sports 1 Stream: Fox Sports Go Radio: WJZ-FM 105.7 (Maryland) / 760 WJR (Michigan State) Opening College Basketball Odds: MSU -14Some say a picture is worth a 1,000 words… We say this one is worth a whole lot more! pic.twitter.com/Q4dK1OULU5
— Maryland Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) January 3, 2018
Last Season
Big Ten teams don’t play every other conference foe twice. Last year, the Terps and Spartans met once, late in the regular season at College Park and Maryland won 63-60. Melo Trimble drilled a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left. After the Spartans committed a turnover under their own basket with 6 seconds to go, the Terrapins’ Justin Jackson received the inbounds pass from Trimble and immediately tossed it back to him. Trimble (gone now) scored 16 on 6-of-15 shooting and Jackson added 15 points for Maryland. Nick Ward had 22 points and 16 rebounds for Michigan State. Ward is still around.Why Bet on Maryland?
The Terps (13-3, 2-1) are succeeding despite some injuries. Forward Ivan Bender was recently lost for the year to a torn meniscus in his right knee. He was averaging 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game but had played in every game before the injury and started seven. In addition, Jackson, who threw that pass in last year’s game, is done for the year with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Jackson averaged 10.5 points as a freshman while shooting 44 percent from 3-point range. But he struggled this season, averaging 9.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and shooting just 25 percent from long range. Maryland won its fifth straight game Tuesday, 75-69 at home vs. Penn State. With guard Kevin Huerter scoring all 13 points in the last 11 minutes, and with freshman Darryl Morsell hitting only his second 3-pointer of the season, the Terps erased a five-point deficit to win.
Sophomore guard Anthony Cowan Jr. led Maryland with 18 points, including a pair of free throws with 21.4 seconds left to build the lead to four. Freshman center Bruno Fernando finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first double. The Terps also committed a season-low five turnovers against a team that leads the Big Ten in steals. They also got to the foul line 34 times and made 23 of those free throws, which ultimately decided the game.
“Every night is going to be a challenge for us … even if Michigan State played three nights in a row and they played us, it wouldn’t matter,” Coach Mark Turgeon said after the win. “They’re a heck of a team. We’ve got to be ready. They’re playing at a high level right now. We have to figure out a way to keep the game at a pace we’re comfortable with.”
Why Bet on Michigan State?
Sparty (14-1, 2-0) rose to No. 1 in the new polls on Monday. Michigan State won both of its games last week and hasn’t lost since Nov. 14, when Duke beat the Spartans 88-81 at the Champions Classic in Chicago. The Spartans are No. 1 for the first time since the 2015-16 season, the 12th time overall. “I do (love the bullseye),” Coach Tom Izzo said. “I do. And I think there’s a lot of teams that could be. You know, I think Duke’s, as you know, as good as anybody. I still love Villanova, but you know what, I don’t think we’ve been given anything either. I think we’ve earned our keep to take our shot at it for a while. The key is not to get there, the key is to stay there and the key is to end up there, so we understand that. You know, I just think it’s a plus for our players to feel like what they’ve done so far gets rewarded a little bit. How they handle it will be … will speak volumes to what our near future is like.” Since that Duke game, there has been no debate as to what the most impressive team in the country is. Michigan State has won all 12 games since then by double digits, including 18-point victories over North Carolina and Notre Dame. MSU is coming off a school record four straight games of scoring more than 100 points and averaged 100.3 points in six nonconference games since opening Big Ten play with wins over Nebraska and Rutgers in early December. The Spartans’ average margin of victory in their last six games is 38.5 points. That includes a 102-60 blowout over Cleveland State on Friday and a 108-52 dismantling of Savannah State on Sunday. Ward was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday. In two games last week, Ward averaged 21.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in 20.5 minutes as went 16-of-17 from the field, connecting on 94.1 percent of his shots. It’s the second career Big Ten Player of the Week honor for Ward, who earned the award in February, 2017, becoming the only league freshman to earn top honors in the league last season.Latest College Basketball Odds Trends
- Maryland is 5-0 SU in the last 5 games
- Maryland is 4-2 ATS in the last 6 games when playing Michigan State
- The total went UNDER in 4 of Maryland’s last 5 games when playing Michigan State
- Michigan State is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games
- Michigan State is 5-0 SU in the last 5 games
- The total went OVER in 4 of Michigan State’s last 5 games
