Bet On College Basketball: Spartans vs Buckeyes
The two most balanced teams in the Big Ten will meet for the Big Ten Conference Tournament title tomorrow afternoon in Indianapolis.
Big 10 Tournament Basketball Matchup: Ohio State vs. Michigan State
3:30 PM EST on CBS
College Basketball Gambling Odds from Bookmaker
NCAA Basketball Betting Favorite: Ohio State -1.5
Over/Under: Off
It might have been a three-way tie at the top in the regular season, but the Spartans and the Buckeyes are the two best teams in the league.
These teams both won on the opponent’s home court in the regular season. Expect a very hard fought battle here.
Ohio State was expected to be the class of the Big Ten, but they had some bumps along the road.
The Buckeyes pulled out a huge win in the regular season finale in East Lansing, and they have looked very sharp in this tournament. Jared Sullinger is playing his best basketball of the season right now.
Sullinger scored 30 points two days ago and 24 yesterday in the win over Michigan. DeShaun Thomas is averaging 20 points per game over the team’s last ten contests. Aaron Craft is the man who makes this offense run, and he is also one of the best defenders in the nation at the point guard spot. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Buckeyes allow only 58.8 points per game.
Draymond Green was named the Big Ten Player of the Year. Green averages 16.2 points and 10.4 rebounds.
Green’s versatility makes him a very difficult guy to guard. The emergence of Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix in the blocks has made this Spartans team much better. Both of those guys shoot at least 55% from the floor. Michigan State gets solid contributions from Keith Appling and Brandon Wood in the back court.
The Spartans lead the Big Ten in rebounding, and Tom Izzo’s team gets tons of second chance points. Michigan State plays tremendous half court defense.
The Spartans allow opponents to shoot only 37.7%, which is second behind only Kentucky in all of college basketball.
This isn’t a game that is easy to pick at all. I think this will be an extremely physical game, and I believe it will go down to the final shot of the game.
Prediction: Michigan State 68 Ohio State 67
