Michigan State Spartans vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 12/9/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Location: John Paul Jones Center in Charlottesville, VA

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Michigan State (+2)

John Paul Jones Center is the site where and the Virginia Cavaliers (3-1) will take on the Michigan State Spartans (5-0) on Wednesday. The spread on this game has Virginia as 2-point favorites. The total has been set at 127.5.

Michigan State will enter this game with a record of 5-0 so far this season. They are losing possession via turnover 14.6 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 17.6 fouls per contest. As a unit, Michigan State is collecting 41.4 boards per game and has accumulated 106 assists so far this season, which ranks 3rd in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Spartans are shooting 35.1% on shots from 3-point land (40 of 114) and 73.6% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 80.0 pts per game (77th in the country) while connecting on 47.6% from the floor. Defensively, the Spartans have forced 11.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.2 fouls. They currently rank 255th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 64 surrendered on the campaign. The Spartans defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 37.7% (120 of 318) and they relinquish 34.6 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are giving up 26.7% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 137th in college hoops in opponents points per game (68.6).

The Michigan State Spartans faced the Western Michigan Broncos and took home the win by a score of 79-61 in their last game. Michigan State ended with a 50.8% FG percentage (32 of 63) and converted 10 of 26 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Spartans made 5 of their 7 attempts for a percentage of 71.4%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 33 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 28 assists for the contest as well as earning 4 steals and 6 rejections. Regarding the defense, Michigan State let their opponent shoot 50.8% from the floor on 32 of 63. Western Michigan distributed 14 assists and 4 steals in the game. On top of that, the Broncos pulled down 28 boards (7 offensive, 21 defensive) and added 6 blocks. Western Michigan finished the game shooting 90.9% from the charity stripe by making 10 of their 11 tries. They knocked down 5 out of their 13 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Joey Hauser is a guy who played a role in this contest. He scored 24 points on 8 of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 27 minutes and also totaled 10 rebounds. Hauser went 57.1% from the floor and also dished out 4 assists. One more player that played big minutes in this matchup for the Spartans was Rocket Watts. He collected 2 boards and also earned 6 assists. He shot 44.4% from the floor in this game via 4-of-9 (10 points). When the final whistle was blown, Watts was on the court for 25 minutes.

Virginia has a win-loss record of 3-1 on the year. As an offensive team, the Cavaliers are shooting 49.5% from the field, which is ranked 104th in college basketball. Virginia has tallied 296 pts on the year (74.0 per game) and they snag 35.0 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.5 times per contest (164th in college basketball) and they are giving up possession 8.8 times per game. The Cavaliers are responsible for committing 13.5 fouls per contest and they shoot 81.3% from the free throw line. The Cavaliers are ranked 26th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 57.5. They are forcing 10.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 38.2% from the floor (64th in the nation). The Virginia defense allows 36.0% on shots from 3-point land (36 of 100) and their opposition makes 70.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 11.3 assists and 28.3 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 95th and 20th in those categories on the defensive end.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Virginia Cavaliers went home victorious with a score of 71-64 against the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Cavaliers earned 25 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 29 in this game. They also stuffed 4 shots while recording 6 steals in this matchup. The Golden Flashes committed 25 personal fouls for the game which took the Cavaliers to the charity stripe for a total of 30 shots. They were able to knock down 22 of those for a percentage of 73.3%. When it comes to shots from downtown, Virginia made 7 out of their 18 tries (38.9%). Overall, the Cavaliers went 21 out of 44 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.7%. The Cavaliers allowed the Golden Flashes to knock down 25 of their 63 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 39.7% for this game. They shot 28.1% from 3-point land by hitting 9 out of 32 and ended up going 5 of 6 at the free throw line (83.3%). When talking about team rebounding, Virginia allowed Kent State to collect 29 in all (9 offensive).

Sam Hauser pitched in for the Cavaliers for this contest. He converted 7 out of 14 for the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, which got him 18 points. Hauser snagged 7 boards in his 41 minutes and added 4 dimes for this contest. One more player who saw a lot of court time for Virginia was Jay Huff. He was able to score 18 points in 37 minutes on the court by going 5 of 9 shooting for the game. Huff walked away from this one going 55.6% from the field as well as contributing 2 dimes and 11 total rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Virginia (-2) and under 127.5 points

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