The Michigan Wolverines will take on the Michigan State Spartans today in the Big Ten Tournament Finals. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on CBS. Currently the odds for the game have Michigan State as a small favorite in this matchup.
Michigan knocked off the Spartans twice this season and oddsmakers find it hard to believe they'll do it a third time. The Wolverines have had two close games in their Big Ten Tournament while the Spartans have breezed through their two games and into the finals. Surely that had something to do with where the point spread is for this one. The rivalry is obviously alive and well between these two schools and Michigan State is going to come into this game with a chip on their shoulders, having lost both times they took the floor against the Wolverines.
So what should we expect? This has the makings of a slug-it-out contest, but now that Michigan State is back to being completely healthy, this also could be a running contest where we see a lot of possessions and plenty of shots. Michigan absolutely wants to run in transition and will look to outlet rebounds and get moving against Sparty in the open floor.
The Big Ten Tournament is historically the last conference tournament to start on this Selection Sunday and today they should be the final two teams playing right before the brackets come out.
Michigan is looking at a steady No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament if they can get a win in this game here today. Their overall body of work is impressive and they did win the Big Ten regular season. Capping it out with the conference tournament title is something John Beilein's team wants to do.
Caris LeVert, Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III will all need to play solid games to beat Michigan State today. The Spartans are getting Adreian Payne, Branden Dawson and Keith Appling all healthy and ready to go and could make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament with their squad. Michigan believes they belong in this game as well, so we expect them to stay focused. Yet, Gary Harris for Michigan State could be the guy that goes off and scores more than 20 points in this one, giving the Spartans a major edge.
Michigan has won six of the last eight games between these two schools, which has made for some better basketball rivalries. Michigan State dominated this series prior to Beilein getting in Ann Arbor.
Michigan State is 3-0 in Big Ten title games while Michigan won in its lone appearance in the inaugural 1998 contest. Yet, we like Michigan to make free throws down the stretch and find a way to win here. The Wolverines are looking to that Big Ten Tournament title to go with their regular season crown and we think they'll be able to do that today after a solid shooting performance.
Free Pick: Michigan 69, Michigan State 65
Handicapping Tips: College Conference Tournaments
What college basketball bettors need to know about betting the upcoming conference tournaments. Handicapping tips and insight provided by Pregame.com's Steve Fezzik, David Glisan & Brady Kannon.
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