Tom Izzo and Jim Larranaga will go head-to-head in the Round of 64 when ninth-seeded Michigan State goes up against eighth-seeded Miami with the Hurricanes favored by two points. The Spartans had a tough year but managed to earn a winning record in a Big Ten Conference that’s sending seven teams to the big dance.
- Miami is 4-14 ATS in its last 18 games as favorite.
- Michigan State is 0-8 SU and ATS in its last 8 games as an underdog of 2.0 or less.
- The total has gone UNDER in Miami's last 6 games against teams with winning records.
Speaking of a conference sending a bunch of teams to the tournament, the ACC will have 10 schools in attendance with Wake Forest making it in through a First Four play-in game. Miami, a team on the lower end of the Atlantic Coast spectrum, was beaten thoroughly by North Carolina in the quarters of their conference tournament and had a rough end to their regular season, dropping two consecutive contests to the Hokies and Seminoles respectively.
Michigan State definitely has a great pedigree in the NCAA tournament but what they don’t have this year is a great chance of winning very many games. They have a lumbering offense that could struggle to score on a Miami defense that’s one of the best in the nation.
The 78 points Miami gave up to the Tar Heels last week are more than they’ve given up in a game in over a month as they’d allowed an average of just 59.6 in the five games before that. The total for this one opened at 125 but these teams like to use as much shot clock as possible and I have a hard time seeing them breach that total.
Michigan State Spartans vs Miami Hurricanes Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The 21-11 and 12-19 ATS Miami Hurricanes will face the 19-14 Michigan State Spartans, who own a 17-15 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Miami Hurricanes are 9-21-1 on the OVER/UNDER so far this season while the Michigan State Spartans are 15-17.
The Power Rankings at Odds Shark show No. 95-rated Michigan State Spartans taking on the No. 154-rated Miami Hurricanes in this contest.
Statistical Matchup
Offensively, the game matches up Miami's No. 209 nationally ranked offense (69.38 points per game) against a Michigan State Spartans defense that sits as the No. 64 at 68.36 PPG. The Miami Hurricanes have been averaging 45.31% from the field, less than the Spartans have managed so far this season (46.78% on average).
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The Spartans endured a 63-58 loss at the hands of the Golden Gophers on Friday, despite a 20-point effort from Miles Bridges at Verizon Center.
Miami was run off the court by the Tar Heels on Thursday as North Carolina routed them 78-53 at Barclays Center.
