Tuesday in CBB we will see the 9th ranked Michigan State Spartans travel to Illinois take on the Illinois Fighting Illini. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm tipoff and will be televised live ESPN. Currently Michigan State is favored by 2.5 points with the total being set at 129.5 for this game. With his 400th career win in the books, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo now sets his sights on the next opponent, who in this case is fellow Big Ten Conference member Illinois tonight at Assembly Hall.
Free Analysis: With his 400th career win in the books, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo now sets his sights on the next opponent, who in this case is fellow Big Ten Conference member Illinois tonight at Assembly Hall. The Spartans, ranked 9th in the most recent poll, are enjoying a two-game win streak after losing two in a row to the likes of Northwestern and nationally-ranked Michigan earlier this month. Becoming just the fourth head coach to win his 400th career game with a Big Ten program, Izzo leaned on Draymond Green to get the job done as he led the Spartans in scoring (22 points), rebound (14) and assists (six) versus Minnesota last week. Green leads the team in scoring overall on the season with his 15.3 ppg, shooting 45.2 percent from the floor along the way. Green is also the top man on the glass for the group with his 10.4 rpg and his 77 assists are second only to Keith Appling (12.3 ppg) who has handed out 83. But more than anything, it is the defense for the Spartans that has kept them riding high this season, limiting the opposition to just 60.2 ppg based on those foes converting just 38.0 percent from the field and 29.7 percent beyond the arc. Stopping Illinois' 7-foot center has been a problem for most teams, but Adreian Payne, can match Leonard inside while Derrick Nix, a 6-foot-9 junior, can guard the Illini’s center when he faces up outside the key. Leonard has scored 13.4 ppg on 57.7% shooting from the floor on the season,while grabbing 8 rpg has also altered many opponents shots on the year. The Fighting Illini just aren’t getting enough offense outside of Leonard and star guard Brandon Paul. The two combined for 45 of Illinois total 72 points in the loss to Minnesota, with no other player scoring in double figures. Paul is producing 14.6 ppg, but when it comes to conference play he has bumped that number up considerably to 20.0 ppg which is one of the top averages in the league. The Illini entered the matchup with Minnesota averaging less than one point per possession in Big Ten play and are ninth in the conference in scoring at 67.9.Defensively the Illini have been solid for most f the year, s they have allowed just 61.7 ppg (51st) on 41% shooting, but they are very bad at defending the three-ball, allowing teams to hit 36% of their long range shots (257th), and that might not be good news for them here as they are facing a State team that has hit 46.7% of their long range shots in their last 5 games. With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, it is deadlocked at 55-55 after they split their two matchups a season ago. When it comes to games played in Champaign, the Illini have a distinct 36-17 advantage, while the last 13 matchups in this series have been decided by 10 points or fewer. Despite their 11-1 home mark the illini are just 4-6 ATS in those games, while MSU is 4-2 ATS on the road.
Free Pick: Illinois has had a good year this year and and they are 11-1 at home But other than 3 good games i don't think this team has been all that impressive. They beat Gonzaga OSU and lost by 4 to Missouri, but other than that they haven't shown me anything. Losing at PSU, beating Nebraska by just 5 at home, beating Cornell by 4, st Bonaventure at home by just 5 and getting blown out by Purdue and UNLV does not have me thinking that this team is really all that good.In fact after their 10-0 start the illini have gone just 5-6 since. Mixcxhigan State started the year at 0-2 but have since gone 17-2, including 6-2 in the Big Whatever-It-Is-Now. The Spartans have been very hot offensively as they have averaged 75.8 ppg on 54.2% shooting in their last 5 games. The Illini mare playing no where near that well at the offensive end right now as they have averaged just 65.4 ppg once Big 10 play has started. The Illini have played good defense this year, especially at home where they have allowed just 59.8 ppg, but the one thing they don't do well at that end is defend the 3-ball and the Spartans shoot the 3-ball very well as they have hit 46.7% of their threes in their last 5 games (36.9% overall), while Illinois have allowed teams to hit 36% of their threes on the year. The Spartans are the better team at both ends of the floor, plus they also get the board advantage and I expect them to win this one rather easily.
Free Picks: Michigan State at Illinois Bettinghttp://PregameVideos.com - Big edge in guard play with Michigan State and Illinois is 11-1 at home plus other factors CBB bettors need to know about Michigan State at Illinois (Tuesday, January 31, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Bryan Leonard and analysis from host Marco D'Angelo.