The No. 13 Michigan State Spartans (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) travel to Madison, Wis., to battle the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers (15-2, 6-1) in a 9 p.m. ET Friday at the Kohl Center. Below, we look at the Michigan State vs. Wisconsin odds and lines and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Michigan State is coming off an upset loss to Northwestern. The Spartans were undone by a minus-8 on the boards and a minus-7 in the turnover exchange in having a nine-game win streak snapped. MSU now travels for just its second true road game since Dec. 8.
The Badgers are also coming off a game against Northwestern — they beat NU 82-76 Tuesday. Wisconsin has won seven consecutive games; sophomore G Johnny Davis has scored 20-plus points in four of those games, averaging 23.8 along the way. Davis and his backcourt mates take care of the basketball better than just about any team in the country: UW’s 8.4 turnovers per game lead the Big Ten.
Michigan State at Wisconsin odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:20 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Michigan State +133 (bet $100 to win $133) | Wisconsin -165 (bet $165 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Michigan State +3.5 (-120) | Wisconsin -3.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 140.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
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Michigan State at Wisconsin odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Wisconsin 74, Michigan State 69
Money line
This isn’t exactly a tortoise-and-the-hare matchup, but MSU plays at the faster end of the pace spectrum while UW plays more of a slow-down style. It’s an intriguing matchup because neither side has a ton of experience against top-40 foes that play the other way.
Drilling down on how these teams performs yields a lean to maybe -155 for the Badgers on the money line and right around 3.5 points on the spread. So, this feature game is well-surrounded by the public.
PASS on the money line: the best margins to leverage are against the number and on the total.
Against the spread
Wisconsin took last year’s matchup — at MSU — by nine (85-76 Dec. 25, 2020), and the Badgers have won two in a row SU and ATS against the Spartans.
And UW is just a razor-thin lean here. Some shooting regression may be due the Badgers, but Wisconsin’s defensive rebounding, handles on the ball and ability to get to the stripe win out in edging the probability meter into two-possession territory.
BACK THE BADGERS -3.5 (-105).
Over/Under
Both sides have been trending a bit more toward the offensive side of the ball. And Wisconsin has been edging toward more free-throw attempts and a higher pace in general.
TAKE THE OVER 140.5 (-107).
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