Michigan State Spartans vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 3/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Sunday, March 8, 2026

Location: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: ESPN+

The Michigan Wolverines (28-2) are hosting the Michigan State Spartans (25-5) at Crisler Center on Sunday.

The Michigan State Spartans stepped onto the hardwood against Rutgers and went home with a win by a final score of 91-87 in their last contest. In the matter of personal fouls, the Spartans walked away with 15 and Rutgers accounted for 21 personal fouls. They made 10 of their 18 tries from downtown. Rutgers finished the contest at 78.9% at the free throw line by knocking down 15 of their 19 attempts. On top of that, Rutgers pulled down 21 rebounds (8 offensive, 13 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Rutgers recorded 16 assists and had 9 steals in the game. In relation to defending, Michigan State let their opponent shoot 47.7% from the floor on 31 of 65 shooting. They also recorded 19 assists in the game as well as forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When talking about rebounding, they compiled 35 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Spartans converted 25 of their 30 attempts for a percentage of 83.3%. Michigan State finished with a 58.5% field goal percentage (31 out of 53) and converted 4 of their 12 shots from beyond the arc.

Coen Carr is a player who was a contributor for the matchup. He walked away from this one shooting 66.7% from the field but didn't record a dime. He was on the court for 32 minutes and also collected 6 rebounds. He ended up with 21 points on 6 of 9 shooting.

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Michigan State steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 25-5 for the season. They turn it over 11.6 times per contest and as a team they are committing 16.1 fouls every game. As a team, Michigan State is grabbing 40.3 boards per contest and is sitting with 551 dimes for the campaign, which is 14th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Spartans are hitting 35.6% on 3-point shots (228 of 641) and 76.1% from the free throw line. They average 78.7 points per game (113th in the nation) while going 47.2% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Spartans are forcing their opponents into 10.0 turnovers per game while drawing 18.7 personal fouls. They currently rank 123rd in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 389 relinquished on the year. The Spartans defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 40.3% (689 of 1,709) and they surrender 28.1 boards per contest as a group. They are relinquishing 32.0% on shots from downtown while they are 28th in college in points per game allowed (67.0).

When they last stepped on the court, the Michigan Wolverines took home the win by a final score of 71-68 when they played Iowa. When discussing rebounding, Michigan permitted Iowa to collect 25 in total (10 offensive). They shot 26.9% from downtown by going 7 of 26 and finished the game at 11 out of 12 from the free throw line (91.7%). The Wolverines permitted Iowa to convert 25 of 64 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 39.1% in this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Wolverines finished 24 for 45 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 53.3%. When talking about three-point attempts, Michigan made 6 out of 12 attempts (50.0%). They were able to knock down 17 of the free throw tries for a clip of 77.3%. Iowa was called for 22 fouls in the matchup which got the Wolverines to the free throw line for a total of 22 shots. They also gave up possession 16 times, while recording 5 steals in the matchup. The Wolverines were able to collect 30 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 36 in the matchup.

Morez Johnson Jr. ended up being a major contributor for the Wolverines in this game. He totaled 16 points in his 28 minutes on the court, but didn't get an assist. He made 6 out of 9 in this matchup giving him a rate of 66.7%, and totaled 8 rebounds.

Michigan has a record of 28-2 this season. As an offensive team, the Wolverines are connecting on 51.1% from the floor, which ranks them 8th in the country. Michigan has accounted for 2,651 pts for the campaign (88.4 per contest) and they pull in 40.6 boards per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 19.0 times per game (4th in the nation) and they are turning it over 12.2 times per contest. The Wolverines are responsible for committing 15.7 personal fouls per contest and they go 73.9% from the charity stripe.

The Wolverines on the defensive side of the court are 53rd in college in PPG surrendered with 68.7. They are able to force 11.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 37.8% from the field (2nd in Division 1). The Michigan defense gives up 29.5% on three-point shots (238 of 807) and opponents are making 74.9% of their free throw attempts. They allow 10.8 dimes and 31.3 boards per contest, which has them ranked 22nd and 29th in the country.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Michigan State

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