NCAAB Betting – Can (11) Spartans End Slide vs (7) Terps
(7) Maryland Terrapins at (11) Michigan State Spartans (-3.5)
The start of Big Ten basketball has not been a welcome one for the no. 11 Michigan State Spartans (16-4, 3-4 Big Ten). After running the table to start the year, they’ve lost four of their last seven, including three in a row, entering this weekend’s tilt with the no. 7 Maryland Terrapins (17-2, 6-1 Big Ten). Michigan will try to shake off their recent struggles and move Tom Izzo into second all-time in wins at a Big Ten school tonight at the Breslin Center (6:30 PM Eastern).
It’s not like the Spartans haven’t come awfully close to ending this mini slide: they’ve lost their last two games by a combined two points. First they surrendered a late layup to Ethan Happ in a 77-76 loss to Wisconsin, then their comeback bid against Nebraska fell short, 72-71. In both games, MSU’s leading scorer, Denzel Valentine, had a buzzer-beater fall short.
Izzo has continued shuffling his starting five during the recent slide, going with a more offensive lineup. But the results have been mixed; Nebraska finished the game shooting 50-percent from the field. That’s a bad omen for the Spartans, as the Terps have the fifth-best field goal percentage in the entire nation.
Sophomore guard Melo Trimble is Maryland’s unquestioned leader, but overall, Mark Turgeon boasts a deep team that can get scoring from a lot of areas. The Terps have five players averaging double-digit points per game. They are also very comfortable playing a short bench, using just eight guys in their recent 62-56 overtime win over Northwestern.
Last season, Maryland took both regular season games against the Spartans, including a 68-66 double-OT thriller at Michigan State. The Spartans exacted some revenge in the Big Ten tournament, pulling out a 62-58 win.
What has to trouble the Spartans this time around is Maryland freshman Diamond Stone. Listed at 6’11 and 255 lbs, Stone is a load to handle down low. While this is a classic hard-rebounding Izzo team, they’ll have their hands full winning the battles on the boards.
Michigan State has not been good betting in Big Ten play, going just 2-5 ATS. Maryland is a decent 3-3-1 in the conference and they’ve only been underdogs once all season: a visit to North Carolina. Given how close the Spartans last few games have been, you have to be confident in Maryland’s ability to at least cover.
Pick: Maryland +3.5.
(Photo Credit: Cristine Maybourne (Originally uploaded to Flickr)[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/].)
Make your bets at one of these Maryland sportsbooks once legalized sports betting launches November 23, 2022.
Eric Thompson has been with SBD since 2015, serving as a sports betting expert in NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB. If you want someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes sports news and betting, Eric is your man. Having studied economics at university, he understands what value is and how to spot it.
