Michigan State vs Bryant Prediction 3/21/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Bryant Bulldogs and the Michigan State Spartans meet Friday in NCAA Tournament First Round college basketball action from Rocket Arena. Here’s a Michigan State vs Bryant prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Michigan State vs Bryant pick.

Bryant Bulldogs Betting Preview

Bryant started out the year on a rough run, but to their credit the Bulldogs recovered and have been playing well since the calendar flipped over to 2025. Bryant won just six of their first 15 games and were three games below the .500 mark on New Year’s Day. A win streak ensued however, as the Bulldogs dispatched Maine, Vermont, Albany, UMass Lowell, New Hampshire, Binghamton, UMBC and NJIT. A 3-2 stretch came next with wins over Binghamton, NJIT and UMBC sandwiched in between losses to Albany and Vermont. Bryant has since won six straight games, taking out Umass Lowell, Maine, New Hampshire, UMBC, Albany and Maine again during that time. The Bulldogs have an America East Tournament championship in the bag alongside a 23-11 overall record across 34 games so far this year.

In the tournament championship game versus Maine, the Bulldogs went into the break with a comfortable lead 38-27. Bryant hit a 41-32 run the rest of the way and took the win in the end 79-59. Leading the team in scoring was Barry Evans with 19 points and seven rebounds. Earl Timberlake put up 17 points with four rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Keyshawn Mitchell doubled up on 14 points with 12 rebounds and a pair of steals. Rafael Pinzon chipped in 13 points, and Kvonn Cramer led the bench scoring on seven points and 10 boards.

Michigan State Spartans Betting Preview

Over on the Michigan State side, they’ve been doing pretty well this year amid a tough schedule—outside of a brief rough stretch back in February. The Spartans opened at 5-2, then beat Minnesota, Nebraska, Oakland, FAU, Western Michigan, Ohio State, Washington, Northwestern, Penn State, Illinois, Rutgers and Minnesota in succession. Michigan State lost three of the next four versus USC, UCLA and Indiana, then beat Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Oregon before a conference tournament loss to Wisconsin. That gives the Spartans a 27-6 record so far this season.

Back on Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament versus the Badgers, Michigan State trailed by four points going into the locker room. The Spartans hit a 41-40 run the rest of the way but couldn’t make the comeback in a 77-74 loss. Jase Richardson topped the team on 21 points with seven rebounds, while Jeremy Fears put up 14 points, six assists and three rebounds. Tre Holloman led the bench scoring on 10 points with two boards and two assists. Carson Cooper added 10 boards, three assists and eight points in 28 bench minutes as well.

Why the Michigan State Spartans will win

• Michigan State has won 22 of its last 23 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
• Bryant has lost each of its last five games against non-Conference opponents.
• Michigan State has won the first half in each of its last nine night games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.

Why the Bryant Bulldogs will win

• Bryant has won each of its last six games.
• Michigan State has lost four of its last five night games played at neutral venues.
• Michigan State has lost the first half in each of its last six games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Michigan State’s last seven NCAA Tournament games against a lower seed have produced a total of 147 or fewer points.
• Five of Bryant’s last six games at a neutral venue have produced a total of 170+ points.

Matchup/League Facts

• Michigan State ranks 3rd among Division 1 teams for opponent three-point percentage this season (28.0%).
• Michigan State ranks 3rd among Division 1 teams for rebound percentage this season (56.6%).
• Bryant ranks 2nd among Division 1 teams for field goal attempts per game this season (65.8).
• Bryant ranks 4th among Division 1 teams for rebounds per game this season (41.4).

Michigan State vs Bryant Prediction

I’m going with the Spartans, but the line’s probably too thick to mess with. No one’s doubting that Michigan State will (almost) surely win this one; the question is the margin of victory. The Spartans are coming off a tepid shooting outing versus a good Wisconsin team, hitting 40.7 percent from the field. Otherwise Michigan State looked pretty decent statistically with 37 rebounds and just seven turnovers—they just couldn’t get the push they needed to vanquish the Badgers. The loss ends an eight-game win streak, but the Spartans have been scoring well lately with 71 or more points in eight of their last nine outings. We should see another nice total here.

As for Bryant, they dismantled Maine in the conference tournament championship with 50.8 percent shooting and a 45-25 rebounding edge but did have 19 turnovers for 12 Bears points. the Bulldogs have scored 79 or more points in all six installments of this current win streak, but the Spartans will represent the toughest challenge of the season so far. I don’t think Bryant will quite keep the pace.