Thursday, March 4, 2009 – Free NCAA Pick
Penn State Nittany Lions (11-17) v #11 Michigan State Spartans (22-7)
The Penn State Nittany Lions will travel to the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan on Thursday night as they try and spoil the No. 11 Michigan State Spartans hopes of earning a share of the Big Ten title with Ohio State.
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The Spartans will want to stay ahead of Boilermakers with a win, as the two teams are locked in a battle for the second seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
MSU owns a commanding 27-5 advantage for the all-time series against Penn State, including a 65-54 victory in a meeting last month.
The Nittany Lions, after have shown some last minute life and after a 12-game slide, have won three of their last four games including a 79-60 win over Northwestern on Sunday. Talor Battle, PSU’s all around player (19.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.1 apg and 33 steals), led the way with 16 points, six boards and six assists, while Chris Babb had 14 points in the win. The Lions shot a smoking 57.1 percent from the floor and knocked down 7-of-13 three-point tries. The Nittany Lions have averaged 70.5 points the last four games, a massive improvement for a team that was scoring an anemic 59.4 per game during the losing streak.
In the meantime, Michigan State enters tonight’s contest with three wins in their last four outings, including a 53-44 win over No. 3 Purdue on Sunday. Raymar Morgan recorded a double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way, while Draymond Green finished with12 points and 11 boards in the win. Spartans leading scorer Kalin Lucas, who leads the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) as well as assists (4.0 apg), was held to just eight points on the night — the second straight contest he failed to reach double digits. MSU dominated a short-handed Purdue holding them to a season low 44 points on 30.0 percent shooting from the field while out rebounding them 46-20.
The odds makers have the Spartans as –13 -point favorites in this one.
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PSU will be gunning hard to derail their rival, but will have to do it against a Spartans team that is not likely to lose on their home court.
I expect the MSU to get a solid win in this one, winning by at least 11-points.
Penn State Nittany Lions Basketball Betting Trends:
- Penn State is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games
- Penn State is 3-13 SU in its last 16 games
- Penn State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
- Penn State is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Michigan State Spartans Basketball Betting Trends:
- Michigan State is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
- Michigan State is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Michigan State’s last 15 games
- Michigan State is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home
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