After a bit of a rough patch, No. 5 Michigan State has rounded back into form and again looks like a national title contender again. The Spartans, though, probably can’t afford to lose again if they have any shot at the Big Ten regular-season title. They are big College Basketball odds favorites Wednesday vs. Penn State.
Mike Watkins led the defense with 15 points and 19 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. With 19 boards, Watkins grabbed the most rebounds for a Nittany Lion since Aaron Johnson had 21 against Northwestern on Jan. 15, 2005.
Rutgers was Penn State’s eighth opponent in 2017-18 to be held under 60 points in a game and Rutgers’ 43 points match the lowest points total given up this season (vs. Coppin State, 12/30/17). The Nittany Lions did not allow a single second-chance point for the first time this season and scored 12 of their own.
Penn State is now 10-0 this season when holding opponents under 40-percent from the field. The Nittany Lions held Rutgers to 31.4-percent in the contest. Under Chambers, Penn State is 65-18 when holding opponents under 40-percent. Aside from Wednesday, Penn State’s most challenging trip left on the schedule is to No. 3 Purdue.
Penn State at Michigan State College Basketball Odds & Expert Pick
When: Wednesday, 6:30 PM ET Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing TV: Big Ten Network Stream: BTN2Go Radio: Penn State Sports Network (Penn State) / 760 WJR (Michigan State) Opening College Basketball Odds: MSU -13.5Your Nittany Lions are back on the road & meet No. 5 Michigan State in a mid-week Big Ten contest. Details: https://t.co/U621Bsudl8 #ClimbWithUs 🔵🏀🦁⚪
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) January 31, 2018
Last Season
This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams. Last year, they also only played once and Penn State pulled off a 72-63 upset in a “home” game in Philadelphia. Lamar Stevens scored 18 points and Tony Carr had 14 to lead Penn State to a win at the Palestra. It was PSU’s first win in the series since 2011. Nick Ward scored 16 points and was the only player to have a decent game for the Spartans. They missed 16 of 23 3s and they shot 37 percent from the floor overall in the second half. Michigan State leads the all-time series with Penn State, 37-8. The Spartans have won 21 of the last 26 games in the series, including eight of the last nine.Why Bet on Penn State?
PSU (15-8, 5-5 Big Ten) is an NCAA Tournament bubble team. It comes off a 60-43 home win over Rutgers on Saturday after previously pulling an upset at No. 13 Ohio State last Thursday. “Usually a win like that in that type of fashion against a top 15 team, especially Ohio State, You’re worried about how we would respond,” coach Pat Chambers said of the Rutgers win. “You’re worried about all the tweets and text messages, all that, getting in their head.” Penn State dominated the Scarlet Knights on the boards, outrebounding Rutgers 42-27, with just two offensive grabs. After holding Rutgers to 28.6 percent shooting in the first half, the Nittany Lions came out of the break with a 7-0 run to build a double figure lead that they would hardly relinquish.
Mike Watkins led the defense with 15 points and 19 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. With 19 boards, Watkins grabbed the most rebounds for a Nittany Lion since Aaron Johnson had 21 against Northwestern on Jan. 15, 2005.
Rutgers was Penn State’s eighth opponent in 2017-18 to be held under 60 points in a game and Rutgers’ 43 points match the lowest points total given up this season (vs. Coppin State, 12/30/17). The Nittany Lions did not allow a single second-chance point for the first time this season and scored 12 of their own.
Penn State is now 10-0 this season when holding opponents under 40-percent from the field. The Nittany Lions held Rutgers to 31.4-percent in the contest. Under Chambers, Penn State is 65-18 when holding opponents under 40-percent. Aside from Wednesday, Penn State’s most challenging trip left on the schedule is to No. 3 Purdue.
Why Bet on Michigan State?
The Spartans (20-3, 8-2) won their fourth straight Sunday, 74-68 at Maryland. Joshua Langford scored 19 points to lead a second-half surge. Cassius Winston scored all 13 of his points in the second half and added five assists. MSU was down by 13 at halftime but outscored the Terrapins 20-4 in the opening 5 1/2 minutes and held on. Minutes after the Spartans rallied, Coach Tom Izzo spoke about what it’s been like to prepare his team to play in the wake of an investigation of the program and the school involving sexual assaults by athletes and staff. Michigan State’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations has come under increasing scrutiny since former university sports doctor Larry Nassar was charged with assaulting scores of girls and young women for years. Some think Izzo should step down. Not happening. MSU ranks No. 1 in the country in field goal percentage defense (35.6 percent), No. 3 in scoring margin (+20.2), No. 1 in blocked shots per game (8.0), No. 1 in rebound margin (+12.1) and No. 20 in scoring defense (64.2 ppg). MSU also ranks No. 3 in field goal percentage (51.7 percent), No. 1 in assists (20.5 apg) and No. 19 in scoring offense (84.4 ppg). Sophomore Miles Bridges is the only player in the country averaging at least 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. Jaren Jackson Jr. was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday. It’s the fourth Freshman of the Week nod this season for Jackson, who also took the honor on Jan. 15, Dec. 11 and Nov. 27. In three games last week, Jackson averaged 14.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.7 blocks and connected on 65.0 percent of his shots from the field. Through 22 games this season, Jackson is averaging 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game, while connecting on 52.3 percent of his shots from the floor and 44.4 percent of his 3-pointers. Jackson’s 3.4 blocks per game rank No. 5 nationally. He’ll be a lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.Latest College Basketball Odds Trends
- Penn State is 2-4 ATS in the last 6 games
- Penn State is 15-8 SU in the last 23 games
- The total went OVER in 6 of Penn State’s last 8 games
- Michigan State is 2-4-1 ATS in the last 7 games
- Michigan State is 19-2 SU in thelast 21 games
- The total went OVER in 9 of Michigan State’s last 13 games
