Michigan State vs Oakland Prediction 12-17-24 College Basketball Picks

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies and the Michigan State Spartans meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Little Caesars Arena. Here’s a Michigan State vs Oakland prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Michigan State vs Oakland pick.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies Betting Preview

The Grizzlies’ season began on a 1-4 skid featuring losses to Boise State, Illinois, Kansas and Eastern Michigan. After two wins over Toledo and Wright State, Oakland fell back into the loss column versus Youngstown State.

Back on December 7 versus Youngstown State, the Grizzlies were trailing 32-23 by the break. Oakland hit a 34-27 deficit the rest of the way in a 66-50 loss. Allen Mukeba led the team on 17 points with five rebounds in the defeat.

Michigan State Spartans Betting Preview

Over on the Michigan State side, they beat Monmouth, Niagara, Bowling Green Samford and Colorado in their first six. After a loss to Memphis, the Spartans beat North Carolina, Minnesota and Nebraska in the next three.

Matched up against the Cornhuskers on December 7, the Spartans went into the second half with a 41-31 edge. Michigan State cruised on a 48-21 run from there and won 89-52. Leading scorer Jaden Akins had 18 points with two rebounds in the victory.

Why the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will win

• Michigan State has lost each of its last four night games played at neutral venues.
• Oakland has won five of its last six games played at neutral venues.
• Michigan State has lost the first half in each of its last four night games played at neutral venues.

Why the Michigan State Spartans will win

• Michigan State has won 21 of its last 22 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
• Oakland has lost each of its last four games at Little Caesars Arena.
• Michigan State has won the first half in each of its last eight games against Oakland.

Michigan State vs Oakland Prediction

I’m going with Michigan State. This is one of those cases where it should only be a question of margin of victory. The Spartans drilled a pretty good Nebraska team in their last outing, hitting 51.8 percent from the field with 48 rebounds. The 17 turnovers were really the only thing to complain about in the rout. Michigan State has scored 89 or more points in three straight games—all wins. That said, they haven’t been on the court since December 7, and even then the starters didn’t have to do a whole lot.

As for Oakland, they shot just 34.6 percent from the field and 12.5 percent (2-of-16) from 3-point range in their latest loss to Youngstown State (which was way back on December 7 as well). The Grizzlies have been below 67 points in six of the last seven games, so it’s hard to imagine them keeping up with the Spartans for long.