Michigan State Spartans vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 3/4/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021

Location: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Michigan State (+13.5)

The Michigan State Spartans (14-10) are headed to Crisler Center on Thursday where they'll meet the Michigan Wolverines (18-2). Michigan State opens this game as 13.5-point dogs. The total opens at 140.5.

Michigan State comes into this matchup with a record of 14-10 on the year. They turn it over 13.1 times per contest and as a team they commit 19.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Michigan State is snagging 38.0 boards per contest and has tallied 399 assists for the year, which ranks 16th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Spartans are connecting on 32.7% on 3-point shots (164 of 501) and 72.7% from the free throw line. They average 70.3 points per contest (205th in college hoops) while connecting on 42.6% from the field. On defense, the Spartans are able to force 10.6 turnovers per game and they draw 17.9 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 278th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 322 relinquished for the year. The Spartans defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.4% (590 of 1,391) and they concede 34.4 rebounds per contest as a unit. They surrender 31.1% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 207th in D-1 in PPG allowed (71.0).

The Michigan State Spartans took the court against the Indiana Hoosiers and took home the win by a score of 64-58 in their last game. Michigan State finished the contest with a 37.7% field goal percentage (20 of 53) and made 4 of 17 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Spartans converted 20 of their 30 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. Concerning hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 43 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 11 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Pertaining to defending, Michigan State let their opponent shoot 32.7% from the floor on 18 out of 55 shooting. Indiana recorded 9 assists and had 6 steals for the game. Furthurmore, Indiana grabbed 36 rebounds (10 offensive, 26 defensive) and had 3 blocks. Indiana went 69.0% from the charity stripe by burying 20 of their 29 tries. They also converted 2 of 20 attempts from 3-point land.

Aaron Henry is one player who was a major factor in this game. He accounted for 22 points on 8 of 16 shooting. He saw the court for 37 mins played and grabbed 8 rebounds. Henry ended up shooting 50.0% from the field and distributed 5 dimes. Someone else that came through in this game for the Spartans was Joshua Langford. He collected 7 rebounds in 34 minutes played. He ended up shooting 44.4% from the field in the matchup by shooting 4-of-9 (13 points). When the game finished, Langford totaled 1 assist.

Michigan has a record of 18-2 this year. The Wolverines have committed 14.7 fouls every game and they connect on 77.1% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 15.5 times per contest (54th in D-1) and they are turning it over 11.7 times per contest. Michigan has scored 1,551 points for the season (77.6 per contest) and they collect 38.3 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Wolverines are connecting on 49.1% from the floor, which is 29th in college basketball. The Wolverines are ranked 63rd in college basketball in PPG allowed with 65.8. They have surrendered 9.8 assists and 31.1 rebounds every game, which ranks them 14th and 29th in D-1. The Michigan defense allows 33.2% on 3-pointers (135 of 407) and opponents are connecting on 75.7% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing their opponents into 10.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.8% from the field (6th in college basketball).

In their last game, the Michigan Wolverines took a loss by a final score of 76-53 when they faced the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Wolverines collected 21 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds totaling 24 for this game. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while earning 5 steals in this game. The Fighting Illini earned 20 fouls for this game which took the Wolverines to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to make 17 of the free throws for a rate of 70.8%. When it comes to 3-pointers, Michigan buried 2 of 7 tries (28.6%). Overall, the Wolverines walked away from this one shooting 17 out of 49 from the floor which gave them a rate of 34.7%. The Wolverines allowed the Fighting Illini to make 30 out of their 64 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 46.9% for the matchup. They went 46.2% from downtown by shooting 6 of 13 and ended up shooting 10 of 14 at the free throw line (71.4%). In relation to attacking the glass, Michigan allowed Illinois to snag 40 overall (11 on the offensive glass).

Eli Brooks ended up having an impact for the Wolverines for this contest. He buried 3 out of 8 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 37.5%, and had 1 rebound. Brooks recorded 11 points in his 31 mins on the court and had 2 assists in this matchup. One more player that was pivotal for Michigan was Isaiah Livers. He accumulated no assists in his 30 minutes on the court, and he shot 2 out of 7 from the floor. Livers finished going 28.6% from the field in addition to collecting 7 points and 6 boards.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Michigan (-13.5) and over 140.5 points

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