Michigan State’s National Championship Odds Fall to +900 After Loss to Va Tech

• On Monday, Michigan State lost outright to Virginia Tech as a 13-point favorite
• The formerly top-ranked Spartans have already lost twice in five games this season and play current #1 Duke in a week
• Their National Championship odds have sunk as a result

The Michigan State Spartans suffered a surprising setback on Monday when they lost to the Virginia Tech Hokies, 71-66, at the Maui Invitational. Afterwards, head coach Tom Izzo apologized to the fans but how much will this lost impact the Spartans?

Sparty was still the favorite in the 2020 March Madness title odds at +650 going into Monday’s game, but sportsbooks have already bumped them down to +900.

Is now a good time to invest or should bettors stay away?

2020 NCAA Tournament Odds

Odds updated November 26th, 2019 . 

Spartans Lose To Virginia Tech

In one of the most stunning early results of the season, the Spartans lost to the unranked Virginia Tech Hokies. It’s not that the Hokies are bad – this wasn’t of the same magnitude as Kentucky’s loss to Evansville – but they’re a mid-grade ACC school and were a 13-point ‘dog. The Spartans aren’t supposed to lose games like this.

It has to give bettors some pause as the Spartans are now just 3-2 on the season. They lost to No. 2 Kentucky to start the year and also had a nail biter at No. 12 Seton Hall. It’s not as if Monday’s loss was a one-off as we’ve now seen a number of sub-par results.

What’s Wrong With The Offense?

The offense has been way off as in their three games against quality opponents as they have just 204 points in 210 possessions. Cassius Winston isn’t playing like a Player of the Year candidate, hitting just 43% on his two-point attempts and averaging just 15.4 points per game. That’s way down from last season when he averaged 18.8 points and shot 46% from the field.

Also down is Winston’s free-throw percentage and assists per game, while his turnovers are up. Winston has dealt with unthinkable personal heartbreak recently, losing one of his brothers less than a month ago. It’s not surprising his on-court performance has trended down.

Xavier Tillman is also not the player he was last season; Rocket Watts has been below average (11-of-42 from the field so far); and now injured Joshua Langford, who was expected back in January, is considering a redshirt.

At the other end of the court, their defense has been worse than expected, too. They’ve given up 31 threes in the three games against quality opponents while allowing Seton Hall and Virginia Tech to hit over 43% from beyond the arc.

What’s The Best Bet?

Truth be told, it would be fairly ridiculous to write off a team like this before we’ve even hit December but at this point, it’s tough to bet their futures. A lot of people are going to hit the panic button but it’s not fully necessary. The lost to Virginia Tech was in Hawaii on a neutral site, so that time zone or court could be a factor.

As for the loss to Kentucky, it was also a neutral-site setback to the No. 2 team in the country. That’s excusable. As for the narrow win at Seton Hall, they were on the road against a Top-15 team, so the win is all that really matters.

At the same time, the issue here is that you’re getting a price on the Spartans as a favorite but they haven’t looked anything like that so far. They’re now tied with Duke in terms of the odds to win it all, but remember that they play Duke next week. Their odds will drop even more if they lose that game.

At this point, it’s best to stay away as you’re paying high-end prices for a team that hasn’t looked high-end so far. They were at +650 before the loss and have dropped to +900 after it.

If they start looking like the team to beat later down the road, you can invest in them and probably won’t miss out on the payout that much. For now, the other favorites have looked better.