Michigan State vs Ohio State NCAAB Spread Preview

Posted by Henry Watkins on Monday,February 22, 2016 1:39, EDT in

The streaking Ohio State Buckeyes will look to give their NCAA March Madness tournament hopes a big-time boost by beating the eighth-ranked Michigan State Spartans when they host their longtime Big Ten conference rivals in an intriguing college hoops oddds pairing of Tuesday night. While both teams enter this contest having won four of its last five games, one ball club looks like a virtual lock to win and cash in from where I’m sitting. Now, let’s find out whom!

How To Bet The Michigan State Spartans vs. Ohio State Buckeyes NCAAB Odds & TV Info

When: Tuesday, February 23, 2016, 9:00 PM  ET
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV: ESPN
Radio: 971TheFan
Live Stream: WatchESPN
NCAAB Odds: TBA

Why Bet The Michigan State Spartans

The Spartans (22-5 SU, 17-9 ATS) are a great bet in this contest because they’re the better team on both sides of the ball. Not only has Michigan State won two straight and six of its last seven games, but the Spartans 8.5 points per game more than the Buckeyes while also allowing 3.5 fewer points per game defensively. Michigan State also has arguably the best player in the nation leading them in versatile forward Denzel Valentine, a multi-faceted next-level star that averages 19.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game.

The Spartans pounded red-hot Wisconsin 69-57 on Thursday to cover the spread as a 9.5-point home favorite as Valentine scored a game-high 24 points and added seven rebounds and 10 assists. “I was just trying to control the game and play at my pace,” he said. “Just take what’s there and try to get the best shot we can.”

The Spartans are averaging a national-best 20.7 assists, thanks in large part to Valentine.”It’s been this way all year,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “It’s been 27, 28 games where they average more assists than any team we’ve had. That’s incredible. That speaks volumes for Denzel because he leads the way with his unselfish play.”

Why Bet The Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes (18-10 SU, 15-13 ATS) look like a solid wager coming into this contest mostly because they’ve won four straight and six of their last eight games overall. Ohio State picked up a thrilling 65-62 overtime win over Nebraska on Saturday to cash in as a 2-point road dog and improve to 3-1 ATS over their last four.

Freshman point guard JaQuan Lyle scored 19 points, including 11 straight at one point in the second half to lead Ohio State to victory. Lyle scored the game’s biggest basket on a driving shot with 31.6 seconds to play. “A month ago we probably would have shut down and they would have won the game in regulation,” Lyle said. “We didn’t do that today. We kept fighting, got to overtime and pulled the game out for a big win.”

Ohio State closes out its regular season campaign with a trio of huge match ups against Top 25 opponents. The Buckeyes face Michigan State home and away, sandwiching a home date against Iowa. “This is a heck of a place to play and Nebraska had a lot on the line, (too),” Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. “From that perspective, we’re very excited about the win even though we might not have played as well as we could. But they had a lot to do with that.”

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Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

As well as Ohio State is playing right now, I just don’t see the Buckeyes beating the far superior Spartans in this contest. While no point spread is listed right now, I expect Michigan State to be favored by somewhere around nine or 10 points – and I believe they’ll get the double-digit win to cover the spread. The Spartans are a perfect 7-0 ATS in their last seven games overall, 6-0 ATS in their last six games versus a team with a winning record and 4-1 ATS in their last five road games.

The Buckeyes are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and they likely won’t go down without a fight, but Ohio State is also just 3-9 ATS in their last dozen home dates against the Spartans.

My final score prediction: Michigan State 79 Ohio State 69