Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
A pair of teams from the Big Ten take the floor in search of a victory on the hardwood in the Land of Lincoln. The Michigan State Spartans are on the road as they make the trip to face the Illinois Fighting Illini Friday night. Michigan State comes in off a 69-65 road win over #18 Wisconsin in their previous game Tuesday night, covering the line as a two-point favorite. Illinois rolled to a 76-50 win over Nebraska in their previous contest on the road as a 3.5-point favorite Tuesday night. In the all-time series between the teams, the Spartans own a narrow 64-62 advantage but the Fighting Illini has won two straight meetings. That includes a 79-74 road victory in the most recent matchup on February 19, 2022.
I just won $14,619 in parlay tickets in the month of November and hit a 47-1 parlay to kick off the New Year. Don't miss out on another big payday! Click here to get a month of my parlays for only $50 (normally $100)!
Michigan State won their seventh straight game as they managed to outlast #18 Wisconsin on the road in their previous game Tuesday night. The Spartans ran their record to 12-4 overall and they were tied with Purdue atop the Big Ten with a 4-1 conference mark. Against Wisconsin, Michigan State scored the game’s first six points and that was the biggest lead either team had in the game. The Spartans were up two at the half only to trail by five with 4:14 to play before rallying. Michigan State outscored Wisconsin 15-6 the rest of the way to earn the win. The Spartans shot 52.3% from the field, including seven of 13 from beyond the arc, and knocked down 16 of their 17 free throw attempts while controlling the glass by a 33-18 margin. Joey Hauser led Michigan State with 20 points and eight rebounds in the win.
The Spartans enter this contest 214th in the nation in scoring offense with 70.3 points per game on the season. Michigan State is 79th in the nation in rebounding (37.8 rebounds per game) and 29th in assists with 16.9 dimes per game. The Spartans are an above average team defensively as they are 72nd in scoring defense by allowing 64.9 points per game on the year. Tyson Walker leads the team with 13.9 points plus 3.1 assists a night this season. Joey Hauser (13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds), A.J. Hoggard (12 points, four rebounds, 6.5 assists) and Malik Hall (10.9 points) are solid secondary scoring options. Jaden Akins, Mady Sissoko, Pierre Brooks, Jaxon Kohler, Tre Holloman, Carson Cooper and Jason Whitens are key contributors for coach Tom Izzo. Michigan State shoots 44.6% from the field as a team this season. The Spartans knock down an average of 7.4 three-point field goals on the year while shooting 37.8% from beyond the arc. Michigan State is solid at the charity stripe as they shoot 75.6% from the free throw line on the yea r.