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Michigan State vs Wisconsin Odds, Lines, and Spread (Jan. 21)

Blair Johnson

by Blair Johnson in College Basketball

Updated Jan 21, 2022 · 2:45 AM PST

Wisconsin's Johnny Davis dribbling down the court
Wisconsin's Johnny Davis (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Ohio State Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin won 78-68. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
  • No. 14 Michigan State (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) takes on No. 8 Wisconsin (15-2, 6-1 Big Ten) Friday, January 21st, at 9:00 pm ET in Madison
  • The Spartans are coming off a 64-62 home loss against Northwestern on Saturday, while the Badgers beat those same Wildcats 82-76 in Evanston Tuesday
  • See the current moneyline, point spread, and game total, plus predictions

The No. 14 Michigan State Spartans (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) — who had their nine-game win streak snapped in their last outing — aim to get back on track against the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers (15-2, 6-1 Big Ten) Friday at the Kohl Center. Tip off is at 9:00 pm ET on FS1.

Wisconsin is favored over MSU according to oddsmakers and KenPom predicts the Badgers will win 71-69.

Michigan State vs Wisconsin Odds

Team Moneyline Spread Total
Michigan State TBD +4.5 (-110) O 140 (-110)
Wisconsin TBD -4.5 (-110) U 140 (-110)

Odds from BetMGM on January 20th, 2022.

The Badgers are 4.5-point favorites heading into Friday’s game with the game total sitting at 140. The total might look high for a Wisconsin game, at a glance, but the Badgers are playing considerably faster this season compared to the seven prior. They are 236th in tempo and hadn’t been higher than 328th under Greg Gard previously.

Tom Izzo’s team got beat at its own game by the Wildcats over the weekend. Michigan State held Northwestern to 34.8% shooting from the field, but still came up short. Junior forward Julius Marble gave the Spartans a chance to win with a career-high 18 points. But leading scorer Gabe Brown was held four point below his season average — scoring just 10 points — and Sparty went down.

Meantime, Greg Gard’s club earned its seventh straight victory in the six-point win over the Wildcats. Sophomore guard Johnny Davis had a game-high 27 points, going 4-for-5 from distance and grabbing eight rebounds.

Shutdown Spartans

Since losing to Kansas 87-74 in its opener, Michigan State has played extremely elite defense this season. Izzo’s club has allowed more than 69 points to an opponent only twice (in a 75-58 loss to Baylor and a 90-78 win over Oakland). The Spartans only gave up 64 to Northwestern, but it wasn’t enough.

If Sparty continues its suffocating defense Friday, it figures to be a long night for the Badgers. Michigan State is rated in the top-25 in four defensive categories, chief among them defensive adjusted efficiency (where the Spartans are 25th in the country). But those numbers were even better five weeks ago. After beating Penn State on Dec. 11, the Spartans were rated sixth. But in each of its last four games, Michigan State has turned the ball over on more than 20% of its offensive possessions. The Spartans gave up 17 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 17 times. That can’t happen if they expect to go into the Kohl Center and come away with a victory.

Hoping to help clean up the carelessness will be point guards Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard. The pair — who combine to average 9.7 assists per game, but also 4.8 turnovers per game — reviewed film of every turnover in Big Ten play earlier this week. Izzo is hopeful the session helped.

Michigan State is among the top-20 teams in the country in the latest NCAA Tournament odds, sitting 19th at +4650. Wisconsin is one place ahead of them with +4500 odds.

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Johnny Be Good

Following his latest command performance, Davis is averaging 22.1 points. The 6-foot-5 La Crosse native is moving into contention for college basketball’s biggest awards after he averaged 7.0 points per game last season as a freshman.

As long as Davis keeps up his torrid pace (he also gone for 30 against Houston and and 37 against Purdue this season), Wisconsin will be a tough on the road to the Final Four. And if he keeps getting help from the likes of Chucky Hepburn — who, like, Davis is averaging seven points as a freshman — the Badgers are set.

Hepburn scored 14 against Northwestern Tuesday, connecting on 60% of his shots overall and 66.6% from 3-point range — including a certain momentum-swinging shot right before halftime.

Plus, from an offensive standpoint, the Huskies have buckets (pun intended) of talent. Sophomore forward Adam Sanogo leads the team with his 15.8 points per game average –and his 6.3 rebounds per game average isn’t too shabby, either. Martin is averaging 13.5 and 6.5,respectively and is one of the best guard/wing rebounders in the country,

The Badgers have scored at least 70 points in every game over their current win streak and will provide a formidable test to Sparty.

Michigan State vs Wisconsin Pick

Friday’s matchup is the first in challenging back-to-back road games against ranked opponents in a span of five day for Michigan State. After facing Wisconsin, it’s on to current-No. 17 Illinois on Tuesday. It would figure the Spartans will come away with a victory in one of those two — but which one?

Wisconsin is rolling right now and tough to bet against.

Pick: Wisconsin -4.5 (-110)

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