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| Michigan State Spartans | Illinois Fighting Illini |
| 16-1 | January 18, 2014, 08:00 | State Farm Center | 13-5 |
Bettors will hope to hit paydirt on Saturday when the Illinois Fighting Illini try to run the Michigan State Spartans off the court at State Farm Center in college hoops action.
This season, the Fighting Illini are 13-5 overall and 8-7-2 ATS, while the Spartans are 16-1 and 9-6-1 ATS. As for the totals, Illinois boasts a 6-9-1 on the OU, and Michigan State is 8-8.
View Michigan State Spartans vs Illinois Fighting Illini Odds and Stats.
Sportsbooks (including Sportsbook) had the Fighting Illini installed as 4.5-point underdogs in this particular matchup earlier in the day. Also, watch for the Sportsbook over-under value at Sportsbook.
According to new college basketball power rankings here, it's the No. 62-ranked Fighting Illini and the No. 7-rated Spartans in this matchup.
Michigan State won its last outing, a 54-40 result against Northwestern on January 15. They covered in that game as a 12-point favorite. Michigan State earned a 54-40 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday, getting 14 points from Gary Harris at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Illinois was a 66-58 loser in their most recent outing at home against Purdue. They failed to cover the 6-point spread as favorites. Tracy Abrams scored 13 points in a futile effort to lead the Fighting Illini to a win (they lost 66-58 to Purdue at State Farm Center on Wednesday).
How They Match Up:
When it comes to rebounds, the visiting Spartans rank No. 17 in NCAA Division 1 with 40.29 per game. That compares with Illinois’s No. 99 ranking in that category. The story is different when it comes to three-point shooting where Illinois is college basketball's No. 127-ranked team at 6.17 per game, while the Spartans rate No. 39 with 7.88 per game.
A few Spartans at Fighting Illini trends to consider:
Michigan State is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
Michigan State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Michigan State's last 10 games
Michigan State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Illinois is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Illinois is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
Illinois is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Illinois is 16-1 SU in its last 17 games at home
Next up:
Michigan State home to Indiana, Tuesday, January 21st
Illinois at Ohio State, Thursday, January 23rd
