The No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks and Michigan State Spartans open the regular season in a neutral-floor battle Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Kansas vs. Michigan State odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Kansas enters the new season with high expectations yet again. Head coach Bill Self welcomes eight new transfers, led by G Remy Martin, who comes over from Arizona State. F Ochai Agbaji is also back from injury, and is one of the best smaller forwards in the Big 12.
Michigan State enters this one unranked, but head coach Tom Izzo always gets the most out of his players. It’s the first time since the 2006-07 season that Sparty isn’t part of the preseason rankings.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Kansas vs. Michigan State odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Kansas -200 (bet $200 to win $100) | Michigan State +160 (bet $100 to win $160)
- Against the spread (ATS): Kansas -4.5 (-115) | Michigan State +4.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 143.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
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Kansas vs. Michigan State odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Kansas 77, Michigan State 68
Money line
A bet on Kansas (-200) will mean risking twice as much as your potential return, and that’s just too much, even if Michigan State (+160) isn’t quite expected to be a top-tier team.
AVOID, and look to the spread instead.
Against the spread
Play KANSAS -4.5 (-115), as the Jayhawks should be able to mesh quicker than Michigan State +4.5 (-107). Both sides have a lot of new faces they’ll be folding in, but the Jayhawks also have a fair share of talent from last season’s 21-9 team. They’re expected to get off to a quick start this season, and they’ll do just that.
Over/Under
The lean is to the OVER 143.5 (-112), although play it lightly. The concern with these early season neutral-floor games is that the players struggle in unfamiliar surroundings in larger arenas. That is a concern even with experienced teams. Kansas was good for 73.3 PPG last season, and they should be a lot more explosive with the addition of Martin.
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