The Michigan State Spartans and the Indiana Hoosiers meet Sunday in college basketball action from Bloomington Assembly Hall. Here’s an Indiana vs. Michigan State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Indiana vs. Michigan State pick.
Michigan State Spartans Betting Preview
Michigan State opened up their season with an 8-0 run. After taking a loss to Duke on December 6, Michigan State beat Penn State, Toledo, Oakland, and Cornell before another loss to Nebraska. Next came wins over USC, Northwestern, Indiana, Washington, Oregon, Maryland, and Rutgers. The Spartans went 3-3 in the next six outings, beating Illinois, UCLA, and Ohio State, with losses to Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin for a 22-5 run through the first 27 games.
On Thursday versus Purdue, the Spartans were in the locker room looking up at a 39-36 deficit on the scoreboard. Michigan State hit a 40-35 advantage the rest of the way, however. leading to a nice comeback win on the road 76-74. Carson Cooper put up 15 points with six rebounds in the winning effort and Kur Teng added 13 points with three boards. Jeremy Fears had 12 points with six assists as well.
Indiana Hoosiers Betting Preview
Over on the Indiana side, they started out on a 12-3 run over their first 15 outings. Indiana lost to only Minnesota, Louisville, and Kentucky in that time. The Hoosiers would then lose versus Nebraska, Michigan State, Iowa, and Michigan ahead of wins against Rutgers, Purdue, and UCLA after that. After falling versus USC, Indiana took out Wisconsin and Oregon before another loss to Illinois and then two more versus Purdue and Northwestern for a 17-11 run.
Matched up against Northwestern on Tuesday, the Hoosiers were looking good after the first half, sitting in the locker room with a 42-33 advantage. Indiana was outscored 39-26 the rest of the way, however, leading to a disappointing loss on their home court 72-68. The top scorer was Lamar Wilkerson with 18 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Tayton Conerway added 14 points and three assists in the defeat.
Why the Indiana Hoosiers will win
- Indiana has won seven of its last eight home games when playing with a rest advantage.
- Michigan State has lost four of its last five games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
- The home team has won the first half in each of Indiana’s last eight games.
Why the Michigan State Spartans will win
- Michigan State has won each of its last 10 games when playing with a rest disadvantage.
- Indiana has lost nine of its last 10 day games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Indiana has lost the first half in seven of its last eight day games against AP-ranked opponents.
Indiana vs Michigan State Prediction
I’ll just stick with Michigan State. The Spartans left Mackey Arena on Thursday with a tight road win over a very good Purdue team. Michigan State shot a healthy 52.7 percent from the field with 19 points off eight Boilermakers turnovers and a 40-32 edge on points in the paint. The Spartans did give up 49.1 percent shooting from the field and had a 25-23 deficit on the boards but it was a great effort nonetheless. Michigan State has won three straight games now, a nice turnaround after their 1-3 run in January/February.
Back on January 13, when these teams last met, the Spartans secured an 81-60 victory at home. In that one Michigan State shot a nice 50.9 percent from the field with 19 of 24 (79.2 percent) at the line and a 33-16 rebounding edge. The 14 turnovers were just about the only thing to cause much of a fuss over. The Spartans will need to clean a few things up mistakes-wise in the road rematch but I think they’re in a good spot.