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Carrie Stroup here with your OSU-Michigan State spread, coming in early at -3 for the Spartans. Find all the latest updated lines at Sportsbook.com. Open your online betting account with as little as $20 and receive FREE CASH up to $250 based on how much you deposit. CARRIE STROUP is your bonus code.
Sportsbook.com Anticipated Line: Michigan State -3
The Big Ten regular-season title is up for grabs when No. 10 Ohio State (12-5 in Big Ten) visits No. 5 Michigan State (13-4 in Big Ten) on Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans had an ugly showing at Indiana on Tuesday, but they have done a great job recovering from defeats all season, going 3-1 ATS after an SU loss, and 7-1 ATS after an ATS defeat. MSU has been unbeatable in East Lansing (17-0 SU), going 11-3 ATS (79%) and allowing just 56.5 PPG at home. OSU is just 6-4 SU (4-6 ATS) on the road and is 1-5-1 in its past seven games overall. That includes scoring a humiliating 48 points on national television against the visiting Spartans on Feb. 11.
Ohio State’s offense was completely stymied in its 58-48 home loss to MSU on Feb. 11. OSU shot 26% from the floor, including 2-of-15 from downtown. The team’s top three scorers, Jared Sullinger (17.0 PPG), Deshaun Thomas (15.2 PPG) and William Buford (14.8 PPG) combined to shoot 9-of-39 (23%) against the Spartans. But fortunately for the Buckeyes, Sullinger’s slump appears to be over after he dominated at Northwestern Wednesday, scoring 22 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in a tight, 75-73 win. Thomas also tallied a double-double in that victory with 19 points and 10 boards. But the struggles continue for Buford, who had just six points on 3-of-10 shooting versus the Wildcats. He has been the biggest culprit during OSU’s three February losses, scoring just 8.3 PPG on 26% FG in the three defeats. But he has also been key to three big February wins, scoring 29, 24 and 17 points during victories over Purdue, at Minnesota and at Illinois. Buford’s performance will go a long way to determining how OSU will fare on Sunday.
Michigan State’s 24-6 (18-9 ATS) season has been remarkable considering only two players average double-figure scoring. Senior PF Draymond Green (16.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.5 SPG) continues to carry this team on his back, and his emotions will certainly be running high on senior night in East Lansing. Although he was bottled up for 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting in Columbus, Green has scored at least 17 points in five games since, averaging 21.2 PPG and 8.6 RPG during this stretch. He scored 29 of his team’s 55 points in Tuesday’s lackluster 70-55 loss in Bloomington. Sophomore PG Keith Appling (11.5 PPG, 3.8 APG) is the other double-digit scorer for Michigan State, but he has not shot the ball well all season at 42.6% FG and 23.8% 3-pt FG. Although Appling scored 14 points in the win at OSU, he also committed seven turnovers and had zero assists in his 29 minutes of action. One player that really stepped up versus the Buckeyes was C Adreian Payne (6.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG) who had 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting, and did a nice job helping frustrate Sullinger into a whopping 10 turnovers.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
