Maryland Terrapins (13-8) vs. Michigan State Spartans (13-8)
February 3, 2024 5:30 pm EDT
The Line: Michigan State Spartans -7.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The Maryland Terrapins and the Michigan State Spartans meet Saturday in college basketball action from Breslin Center. Maryland is 13-8 overall this year. The Terrapins beat Nebraska in their last outing. As for Michigan State, they’re coming off a win over Michigan that brought the Spartans to 13-8 on the season. Let’s get into our Maryland vs. Michigan State prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Maryland Terrapins
The Terrapins lost six of their first 15 games this year versus Davidson, UAB, Villanova, Indiana, Purdue and Minnesota. Maryland is 4-2 in their last six games with wins over Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska sandwiched around a pair of consecutive losses to Northwestern and Michigan State.
Last Saturday versus Nebraska, the Terrapins didn’t have too many issues. Maryland was up 44-27 by halftime and finished off the game on a 29-24 run from there in a 73-51 victory. Leading scorer Julian Reese doubled up in the win on 15 points and 16 rebounds with three steals.
Michigan State Spartans
Over on the Michigan State side, they went 9-7 over their first 16 games this year, taking losses to James Madison, Duke, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Northwestern and Illinois. The Spartans have gone a solid 4-1 since then with wins over Rutgers, Minnesota, Maryland and Michigan.
On Tuesday versus Michigan, the Spartans were behind 35-33 in the locker room. Michigan State woke up in the second half though, riding a 48-27 run toward an 81-62 victory in the end. Tops in scoring was Jaden Atkins on 23 points, three steals, three rebounds and three assists.
ANDREW’S FREE MARYLAND VS MICHIGAN STATE PREDICTION
I’ll stick with Michigan State. You could make a case either way, though. The Spartans took care of a struggling Michigan team pretty well in their last game (despite the slow start and 34-26 rebounding deficit). Michigan State shot 55.7 percent from the field in that one and had just six turnovers.
That makes 73 or more points in three of the last four wins for the Spartans. The one outlier in that span was a 61-59 road win over Maryland the last time these teams met up on January 21. Neither team shot all that well in that one (42 percent for both) and the Terrapins had a dominant rebounding edge. The game was decided on 18 Maryland turnovers, though. This rematch is likely going to be a much different finish, but I still like the Spartans.
