FREE BASKETBALL PICK – TUESDAY, FEBRUARUY 2, 2010
#5 Michigan State Spartans (19-3) v #16 Wisconsin Badgers (16-5)
The No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers will host the red-hot No. 5 Michigan State Spartans in a Big 10 showdown on Tuesday at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
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The Spartans knocked off the Badgers 54-47 in their previous meeting at MSU back on Jan 6.
Wisconsin held Purdue scoreless for the first 5:44 of the second half to take a 34-27 lead but poor defense in the closing minutes allowed the No. 10 Boilermakers to hand the Badgers a heartbreaking 60-57 loss to on Thursday in a Big 10 contender match up. Keaton Nankivil scored a career-high 25 points and shot 7 of 8 on 3-pointers in the loss. Nankivil was 9 for 14 overall, but the rest of the Badgers shot just 11 for 36 from the field. Purdue outrebounded Wisconsin 37-25 and held the Badger’s scoring trio of Trevon Hughes, Jordan Taylor and Jason Bohannon to a combined 25 points on 8-for-28 shooting. The loss kept the Badgers from grabbing sole possession, and instead put them into a four-way tie with Purdue, Ohio State and Illinois for second place in the conference.
Meanwhile, the Spartans are coming off their tenth win in a row, and nine straight wins in the conference, as 6-foot-4 junior guard Durrell Summers helped his team by netting a season-high 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead Michigan State to a 79-70 win over Northwestern on Saturday night. MSU leading scorer Kalin Lucas scored 23 points and four assists while Draymond Green contributed with nine points, 11 rebounds and four assists in the win. The victory gives MSU a commanding three game conference lead.
The odds makers have the Badgers as –2-point favorites and a game total of 123 ½ in this one.
It’s hard to detect a distinct advantage for either team in Tuesday’s match up. However, the Badgers will be without junior forward Jon Leuer, who remains sidelined due to a broken left wrist. Leur put up 21 points and seven rebounds when the Badgers lost 54-47 to MSU early last month, so his absence could prove costly for Wisconsin.
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If anyone can derail Michigan State’s 9-0-conference start it’s the Badgers who are a perfect 12-0 at the Kohl Center. However, the Spartans are 4-0 in Big Ten road games. I expect this game to come down to the closing minutes with the Wisconsin edging out a win 4-point at home and the UNDER.
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Michigan State’s last 8 games
- Michigan State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- Michigan State is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- Michigan State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Wisconsin’s last 12 games
- Wisconsin is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Wisconsin’s last 7 games at home
- Wisconsin is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
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