The Michigan State Spartans are 6-0 SU over their last six games and 3-0 ATS over their last three. The Spartans will try to extend both of these winning streaks on Sunday afternoon at home against the Michigan Wolverines.
- Date/Time: January 5, 1:30 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Breslin Student Events Center
- TV Coverage: CBS
- Sportsbook Odds: Michigan State -9 | O/U 144
- Wolverines vs Spartans Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
There was very small movement on both the line and total in this matchup with Michigan State moving from a 9-point favorite to an 8.5-point favorite at home and the total dropping a point from its opener of 144 down to 143. The Spartans have seen each of their last seven games in the month of January go UNDER the posted total.
Michigan News & Notes
Michigan finished up 2019 with a respectable 10-3 SU and 8-5 ATS so far this season, but seven of the team’s wins came at home and three came at neutral sites. The Wolverines have been tested on the road only twice in 2019-20, coming up short in a 58-43 loss as 6-point underdogs in Louisville and 71-62 as 1.5-point underdogs in Illinois. The squad is 3-5 SU and ATS in its last eight road games overall and 3-16 SU in its last 19 road games against the Spartans dating back to 1998.
The Wolverines will be tasked with trying to break out of these road slumps without their second-leading scorier, Isaiah Livers, who is out with a groin injury. Michigan will need to lean heavily on senior center Jon Teske, who leads the team in points (14.4) and rebounds (8.4) per game.
Michigan State News & Notes
Michigan State got off to a relatively slow start this season with a 6-3 SU and 2-7 ATS record through its first nine games. But Tom Izzo’s group has won each of its last six games and is 4-1 ATS over its last five, crushing opponents by an average margin of 35.3 points per game over the first three games of this current homestand. Those games include victories over Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan; now the Spartans face a much bigger in-state test.
Cassius Winston is averaging 17.8 points and 6.1 assists per game in his senior season, leading the Spartans in both of these categories. Junior Xavier Tillman has also pitched in 13.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game this season as Michigan State ranks 18th in the nation with 81.4 points per game.
Betting Pick: Michigan State -8.5
This game would be a lot more interesting with a healthy Isaiah Favors and being played at a neutral location; but with Favors out and East Lansing as the destination, the Spartans have a clear edge.
- Michigan is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games against Michigan State.
- Michigan State is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games played on a Sunday.
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Michigan State's last 6 games against Michigan.
