The Michigan State Spartans and Georgia Bulldogs take to the floor today in the NCAA Tournament Second Round. The game is scheduled for a 12:40 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on truTV. Currently the College Basketball Betting Odds for the game have Michigan State favored to advance past this round of the tournament.
The Spartans are a pretty sexy pick in this region, expected to pick up a win over the Georgia Bulldogs before knocking out second seeded Virginia in many brackets. Tom Izzo is a staple in the March Madness world as Michigan State always seems to play well during this time of year. The Spartans are favored by a couple of buckets in this contest, a battle of teams that each have 11 losses on the year.
Michigan State led Wisconsin by a comfortable margin in the Big Ten title game on Sunday, but the Spartans let that one slip away and the Badgers cruised in overtime. Izzo and his team now have to turn their attention to Georgia, a team that plays solid defense and looks to keep their opponents off the glass.
This will be Georgia’s first tournament appearance since the 2011 season. Success, though, hasn’t been something the Bulldogs have been able to figure out once the tournament starts. Georgia has dropped its first game in each of the last two tournament appearances in 2008 and 2011. The last time the Bulldogs won a game was in 2002, when they were a third seed in the East Region and beat up on Murray State, but wound up getting upset in the second round by Southern Illinois.
When it comes to tournament pedigree and history, Michigan State has the advantage by a mile. They do have the better team, led by Travis Trice, Branden Dawson and Denzel Valentine. The trio of Spartans have caused Izzo some grief this year, but they’ve also been successful.
And as good as Georgia is on the boards, Michigan State can hold its own as well. The Bulldogs rank 24th nationally on the glass while Sparty comes in hauling in 38 rebounds per game, which ranks 36th.
Michigan State seems to be under seeded in this tournament, especially with the 14th best adjusted offensive efficient team in the country. Georgia is not nearly as good offensively, but is better on the defensive side of the ball in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Many of the games on Thursday were close. These teams are pretty close as well, but in the end Michigan State’s experience proves to be too much.
Free Pick: Michigan State 73, Georgia 66
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