A lot has happened over the last month since the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans squared off. Dusty May’s squad has been on a heater, losing just one game (vs No. 1 Duke in Washington D.C.) and winning the Big Ten regular-season title. Meanwhile, Tom Izzo and his team proceeded to lose two of their next three games immediately following the loss to Michigan, but have since won five straight, including at a pair of tough places in Assembly Hall and Mackey Arena.
Michigan was a slight 2.5-point favorite over MSU in East Lansing the last time these two teams faced off, but the Wolverines are an even bigger favorite this time around. According to the oddsmakers at FanDuel SportsBook, Michigan is a 9.5-point favorite over MSU on Sunday, with the over/under set at 150.5.
In that first game back on Jan. 30, Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg put up an impressive 26 points and 12 rebounds, while point guard Elliot Cadeau contributed 17 points of his own and Morez Johnson Jr. had 12 points to lead the Wolverines to victory. Michigan’s defense was suffocating in the first half, holding the Spartans to just 26 points in the first 20 minutes. But Michigan State drew much closer in the second half — even taking the lead at one point — before the Wolverines pulled away with an 83-71 victory.
Even with the Big Ten crown already secured, the Wolverines have a lot to play for in this game. This is a chance to remove any doubt and lock in a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. This is also an opportunity for May to even the score against Izzo in their head-to-head matchups, as Izzo currently holds a 2-1 advantage. And finally, in-state bragging rights are also always an important factor — it sure would be nice to tell all our Spartan friends they didn’t beat Michigan in both football and basketball this season.
Needless to say, don’t expect Michigan to take this game lightly. I think the Wolverines win, but I do expect the Spartans to keep this thing pretty close. I would bet MSU to cover, but not win the game.
What do you think of this spread? Do you think Michigan will win and cover the spread? Or will the Spartans make some magic happen and keep this thing close, or even win the game? Let me know what you think down in the comments section below.
