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Can Michigan State Cover the Big NCAAB Spread Against Rutgers?

Written by on December 4, 2017

NCAA Basketball Betting News
Third-ranked Michigan State will look to stay hot when they hit the road to take on Rutgers on Tuesday night. While getting the win may not prove too difficult for the athletically superior Spartans, basketball bettors everywhere need to know if they can cover the huge double-digit NCAAB spread as road favorites. Let’s find out what’s going on in the College Basketball lines.

Michigan State (7-1) at Rutgers (6-2) NCAAB Spread & Game Preview

  • When: Tuesday, December 5, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
  • Where: Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC), Piscataway, New Jersey
  • NCAAB Spread: Michigan State -14.5

Team Records

  • All: Michigan State Spartans 7-1 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 6-2
  • Home: Michigan State Spartans 6-0 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 6-1
  • Away: Michigan State Spartans 1-1 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 0-1
  • As Favorite: Michigan State Spartans 7-1 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2-0
  • As Underdog: Michigan State Spartans 0-0 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 0-2
  • ATS: Michigan State Spartans 6-2 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2-2
  • Over/Under: Michigan State Spartans 4-3 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2-2

2018 MENS NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS TO WIN

Recent Head to Head (Last 4 Games)

  • Record: Michigan State Spartans lead 4-0
  • Score: Michigan State Spartans 89.25 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 61.00
  • Field Goal Percentage: Michigan State Spartans 50.78 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 38.36
  • Rebounds: Michigan State Spartans 45.75 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 28.25
  • 3 Point Shots: Michigan State Spartans 52-105 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 17-54
  • Steals: Michigan State Spartans 6.50 / Rutgers Scarlet Knights 6.00

Why Bet on the Michigan State Odds at -14.5?

The best reason to bet on Michigan State is that they’re clearly superior to Rutgers offensively and athletically and they’re playing the best basketball of the season right now. Michigan State is clearly the best one-loss team in the country right now, with wins over really quality teams like North Carolina and Notre Dame in the past eight days. The Spartans spanked Nebraska 86-57 on Sunday as Nick Ward scored a team-high 22 points and Miles Bridges added 16 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Michigan State’s defense was absolutely phenomenal in limiting the Cornhuskers to just 27.4 percent shooting (17-for-62) shooting from the field. The win was the Spartans sixth straight victory by at least 18 points. Freshman Jaren Jackson added 15 points and 10 rebounds in the convincing win. “I’m really impressed with Nick Ward,” Nebraska head coach Tim Miles said. “He’s improved. He’s running better and not just one-dimensional.”

Team Statistics

Offense
  • Total Score: 81.50
  • Field Goal Percentage: 50.21
  • Three Point Percentage: 37.11
  • Free Throw Percentage: 72.46
  • Total Rebounds: 42.88
Defense
  • Total Score: 62.25
  • Field Goal Percentage: 34.16
  • Three Point Percentage: 36.21
  • Free Throw Percentage: 68.21
  • Total Rebounds: 30.50

Why Bet on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Odds at +14.5?

The best reason to bet on Rutgers is that they’re desperate and playing at home. Unfortunately, the Scarlet Knights have dropped two straight and got blown out of the water by Minnesota in their 89-67 loss on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights got double-figure scoring from five players but shot a tepid 32.4 percent from the field and just 27.8 percent from three-point distance (5-for-18). Rutgers committed 24 total fouls, leading to a whopping 35 free throws for the Gophers in the Big Ten opener for both teams. According to the NCAAB Spread, the Scarlet Knights are huge underdogs. Coming into Sunday’s game, the Scarlet Knights were leading the Big Ten in scoring defense at 56.3 points per game. But the Gophers had the league’s No. 1 offense at 89.4 points per game, and they wore down Rutgers with their up-tempo attack. “We can’t give up 89 points on the road, home, or anywhere else,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “Our defense wasn’t what I was hoping for in a game like this, and didn’t give us a chance to win.”

Team Statistics

Offense
  • Total Score: 72.88
  • Field Goal Percentage: 41.25
  • Three Point Percentage: 26.39
  • Free Throw Percentage: 62.29
  • Total Rebounds: 46.12
Defense
  • Total Score: 56.25
  • Field Goal Percentage: 36.47
  • Three Point Percentage: 29.49
  • Free Throw Percentage: 63.93
  • Total Rebounds: 34.88

Latest NCAAB Betting Trends

  • Spartans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games
  • Spartans are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games
  • The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Michigan State’s last 6 games
  • Scarlet Knights 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
  • Scarlet Knights 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
  • The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Rutgers’s last 9 games

Expert Analysis and Prediction

The spread for this matchup may look a bit daunting, but I wouldn’t worry about Michigan State covering the chalk with the way they’re playing right now and the way Rutgers got blasted off the court the last time out. Michigan State has at least two sure-fire NBA lottery picks in Nick Ward and Miles Bridges and Rutgers has none. Not only that, but Tom Izzo’s squad is playing stupendous defense right now and I believe they’re going to win their seventh straight game and cover the NCAAB Spread with no problems. The Spartans are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 25-10 ATS in their last 35 games against their Big Ten counterparts while Rutgers has gone 15-36 ATS in their last 51 games following a straight-up loss and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600. Pick: Michigan State -14.5
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