March Madness – (10) Georgia vs. (7) Michigan State

(10) Georgia Bulldogs vs. (7) Michigan State Spartans (-5.5, 126 o/u)

Two teams looking to rebound from tough conference tournament losses will meet in the Round of 64 as the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs (21-11, 11-7 SEC) square off against the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans (23-11, 12-6 Big Ten)  tomorrow at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina (12:40 PM Eastern).

Georgia finished the season winning five of their last seven games, but couldn’t handle Arkansas in the SEC semifinal, losing 60-49. Guard Kenny Gaines didn’t play for the Bulldogs in the loss (sprained ankle), while Juwan Parker played just six minutes.

The laboring Bulldogs know that Tom Izzo’s Michigan State squad will provide a stiff test tomorrow afternoon.

“Michigan State understands winning; they are used to winning, give them credit for that. They’re a model program in many ways,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “They have great respect from all of us, and they’ve been here more than we have, and so their players have more experience, but we’ll have to make sure we’re mentally mature enough to handle the bigger stage.”

Michigan State showed its winning pedigree by reaching the Big Ten tournament final. They looked poised to upset top-seeded Wisconsin in the title game, holding a late 11-point lead. But they went cold down the stretch and ended up losing 80-69 in OT.  The Spartans failed to score a single point in overtime.

“I’m kind of looking forward to seeing if this team can get back off the mat, because this could be a hangover that KOs them,” coach Izzo said candidly about his team.

The Spartans run to the conference title game was something of a surprise. The team finished in a three-way tie for third in the Big Ten (with Iowa and Purdue), but notched back-to-back wins over Ohio State and No. Maryland to reach the final.

Apart from the last few minutes of the game against Wisconsin, Michigan State is playing its best basketball of late. The Spartans’ improved play has them sitting as 5.5-point favorites for tomorrow’s game, with the over/under at 126 points.

While recent play favors the Spartans, the betting trends lean Bulldogs. Georgia is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games overall, while the Spartans are 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 neutral site games. Georgia also went 19-11-1 ATS on the year versus 18-16 for MSU.

The winner of tomorrow’s game will likely play No. 2 Virginia in the Round of 32 (unless No. 15 Belmont pulls a shocking upset).

(Photo credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dylan McCord [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)