Out of the Big Ten Conference, the Michigan State Spartans are at the Illinois Fighting Illini on Thursday. The Spartans come into the game with a 9-6 overall record. Tom Izzo’s team is fighting for a tournament spot, and will face a tough road test. The Spartans are coming off a blowout loss at Northwestern on Sunday.
For Illinois, they are also coming off a loss. The Illini lost at top ranked Purdue last week. Overall, the Fighting Illini are 11-3 on the season. Illinois started the week 10th in the most recent Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Illinois is the favorite in this game. The Fighting Illini are -3.5 over Michigan State. The total for this game is set at 149.5.
Izzo and Spartans Seeking Win #10
Tom Izzo and his Spartans had a five game winning streak until they arrived in Evanston. The WIldcats smoked them and the winning streak was no longer. The previous loss for Michigan State was on the road at Nebraska. So, the Spartans need to find a Big Ten win, and do it quickly.
The Spartans are scoring 78 points per game. They are shooting around 48% from the field and 46% from down town. The Spartans, who are usually elite on the glass have fallen to just 34.1 rebounds per game. Michigan State is playing unselfish basketball, with 18.6 assists per game as a team.
Tyson Walker is the top scorer for the Spartans this season. The guard scored 27 in a loss to Northwestern. On the season, he is scoring 20.6 points per game, and dishing out 2.9 assists. Next for the Spartans is A.J. Hoggard, who is averaging just over 11 points per game.
The Spartans will host Rutgers on Sunday and Minnesota next Thursday, before going back on the road to Maryland on January 21st.
Illinois Off the Court Issues
The Fighting Illini are in a battle with a legal issue with their top scorer. Terrence Shannon played the first 11 games of the season, and scored 21.7 points per game. He was having a fantastic season before he was removed from the team just after Christmas.
Now, Marcus Domask has had to come through even stronger. The former Southern Illinois Salukis star is scoring 14.1 points per game. Since Shannon’s absence, Domask has scored 11, 32 and 26 in the three games.
Illinois is one of the top offensive teams in all of College Basketball. The Orange and Blue score 82.5 points per game. They do a bunch of their damage on the glass. Illinois is the 5th best rebounding team in America, with 40.1 per game.
Illinois will remain home after this and host Maryland on Sunday. Following that, the Orange and Blue go on the road to Michigan on January 18th.
Orange and Blue Smokes Green
Illinois is going to get back on track here. Sure, they are missing Shannon Jr., but other guys have stepped up, and this looks like a team to contend at the top of the Big Ten. Our final betting pick for this game is the Illinois Fighting Illini -3.5 over the Michigan State Spartans on Thursday. Enjoy the game, and best of luck with all your NCAA Basketball betting!
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