Michigan State vs Michigan 1/7/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Michigan Wolverines (9-5) vs. Michigan State Spartans (10-4)
January 7, 2023 2:30 pm EDT
The Line: Michigan State Spartans -4.5 / Michigan Wolverines +4.5; Over/Under: +140.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans meet in college basketball action from the Breslin Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Michigan Wolverines will look to build on back-to-back wins after a 79-69 win over Penn State last time out. Hunter Dickinson leads the Wolverines in scoring and rebounding with 18.7 PPG and 8.3 RPG while Jett Howard has 14.6 PPG and Kobe Bufkin’s also chipping in 12.2 PPG with 3.8 RPG and 2.8 APG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Michigan so far this season. Dug McDaniel also has a team-high 3 APG to lead the Wolverines in the assist department this season. As a team, Michigan is averaging 76.5 PPG on 45.3% shooting from the field, 35.4% from three and 68.1% from the foul line this season.
The Michigan State Spartans will try to build on their five-game win streak after a 74-56 win over Nebraska last time out. Joey Hauser leads MSU in scoring and rebounding with 13.9 PPG and 7.6 RPG while Tyson Walker has 13.9 PPG with 3.3 APG. Malik Hall has 10.7 PPG with 4.2 RPG and A.J. Hoggard has 11.9 PPG with a team-high 6.4 APG to lead Sparty in assists while rounding out the group of double-digit scorers for MSU this season. As a team, Michigan State is averaging 71.2 PPG on 44.7% shooting from the field, 37.5% from behind the arc and 73.5% from the foul line this season.
Michigan is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games against a team with a winning record and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 Saturday games. Michigan State is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 games overall.
I get the case to be made on either side in this game, but I’m siding with Michigan State. Sure, rivalry games can be tricky and you wouldn’t necessarily expect Michigan State to run away with it, but the fact is that head-to-head, the home team’s owned this matchup, and it hasn’t been all that close, with the home team covering the spread easily, sometimes by double-digits. I’ll side with Michigan State at home in this one.
