The Michigan State Spartans and Nebraska Cornhuskers meet up today in Big Ten College Basketball action. The game is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the Betting Odds for the game have the Spartans favored on the road by a handful of points in this one.
Michigan State and Nebraska could play this game in the 50s or 70s — either way it favors one or the other. Nebraska wants this to be a lower-scoring contest as they average only 65 points per game, but in conference action are scoring just 58 points per game. Michigan State is a 73-point per game team and doesn't have as much of a drop-off in conference games, scoring exactly 70 points per game.
Only Maryland has been able to knock off the Spartans in the Big Ten this season, giving Tom Izzo's team its only two conference defeats. Michigan State defends well, rebounds and shoots very well on the offense end as well, pouring in nearly 48 percent of their shots, which ranks 30th best in the country. Nebraska is not very good at two of those three things — the Cornhuskers shoot just 43 percent from the floor and are just an average rebounding squad. Turnovers and rebounding will both play a major factor in tonight's game.
Nebraska has won eight of their 11 games at home this season, but does have losses to Incarnate Word and Creighton — two teams with a combined record of 18-16. The Cornhuskers are one of the teams in the country that is underachieving and it won't get any easier in the conference. Having two of the league's top scorers in Terran Petteway (18.9 ppg) and Shavon Shields (16.4) helps them in this one. Michigan State is a good defensive team, but having multiple options will be critical for Nebraska.
The Spartans will counter with a trio of players in Denzel Valentine, Travis Trice and Branden Dawson that are great when Michigan State wins games. The trio are all double-digit scorers and Dawsen might be the best defensive player in the conference. Trice and Valentine both have stepped up and taken over in leadership roles, which is exactly what Izzo will count on tonight with his team on the road.
Michigan State is a talented squad and Nebraska has a pair of players that can score with anybody in the conference. Which team will get the key stops — that will be the critical point in the second half tonight.
Free Pick: Michigan State 65, Nebraska 59
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