Syracuse vs. Michigan State Pick
Will No. 3 Michigan State have trouble with No. 11 Syracuse when the two meet up today in the second round of the NCAA Tournament?
GAME SNAPSHOT
NCAA Tournament Midwest Region: (715) Syracuse vs. (716) Michigan State
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
TV: CBS, 2:40PM ET
CURRENT ODDS
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, Michigan State is favored in this game, as the Spartans are getting odds of -9 points against Syracuse. The over/under total is currently listed at 129.5 points.
LINE MOVEMENT
The spread opened with Michigan State as an 8-point favorite and has slowly worked its way up to 9 points over the last 48 hours. The over/under total opened at 130 points, but quickly dropped to 129.5.
Bet on College Basketball for Sunday, March 18, 2018
PUBLIC BETTING INFORMATION
The public is behind Michigan State for this game. As of Sunday morning, the Spartans are getting 55 percent of the wagers on this game as the favorite against Syracuse.
KEY INJURIES
Both teams have no new injuries on their injury report. MSU has walk-on Brock Washington sitting out for disciplinary reasons while Syracuse continues to be without Howard Washington, who suffered a season-ending leg injury. He played just 6.1 minutes per game when active.
BETTING STRATEGIES
The Spartans are coming off an 82-78 win over Bucknell in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Syracuse picked up a 57-52 win over TCU for its second tournament win of the week. The Cuse have been the underdog in their wins over Arizona State and the Horned Frogs.
Michigan State has a lot of talent, but covering hasn’t been something that the Spartans have done consistently. They have failed to cover the spread in four straight games and are 5-11-1 against the spread away from home this season.
This is a matchup that hasn’t gone well for Michigan State either. Syracuse has won and covered in four straight against the Spartans. The Cuse zone gives MSU a lot of problems. This Michigan State team isn’t great in a half-court offense either, which Syracuse will force it into. I will take the Orange to give the Spartans problems again.
NCAA TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS: SYRACUSE +9