Scarlet Knights vs. Spartans Prediction
The 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans have had an underwhelming start to their season. Can host MSU regroup and dominate the Rutgers Scarlet Knights tonight by enough to cover the big spread?
Game Snapshot
805 Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 806 Michigan State Spartans
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Breslin Center at 7PM ET
TV: BTN
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According to oddsmakers, the Spartans are a 14-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 141.5 points. As of Sunday morning, 59 percent of public bets are coming in on host MSU. Check out our College Basketball Betting Page for the latest info.
Scarlet Knights upended at Pitt
Rutgers lost by a 71-60 score Tuesday night at Pittsburgh in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to drop to 6-2 overall and 0-1 on the road. The Scarlet Knights trailed 35-27 at halftime and could not bounce back. Myles Johnson helped lead Rutgers with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. He also ripped down 14 rebounds. Montez Mathis contributed 14 points and three boards. Ron Harper Jr. added 14 points, 10 caroms and two steals.
Spartans tripped up by Blue Devils
Michigan State lost by a score of 87-75 Tuesday night at home versus 10th-ranked Duke to fall to 5-3 overall and 2-1 at home. The Spartans trailed 45-29 at halftime and could not mount a rally after the break. Xavier Tillman led MSU with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting plus 2-of-2 at the charity stripe. He also racked up eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Marcus Bingham Jr. accounted for 13 points, three blocks and two boards. Cassius Winston added 12 points, seven dimes and three rebounds.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights are 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight games as an underdog. Rutgers is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games as a road underdog.
Michigan State
The Spartans are 5-0 ATS in their last five Sunday games. Michigan State is 0-4 ATS in its last four games overall.
Prediction:
The Spartans are eventually going to figure it out and probably sooner rather than later. I think this is a fantastic recovery spot for MSU against a Rutgers team that might be slightly improved from last season but it’s still Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights can struggle to put points on the board for long stretches and against an efficient team such as Michigan State that is not going to fly. The Spartans know they need to string together some strong performances and I see them winning big here.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL DAILY PREDICTION: MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS -14