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The Northwestern Wildcats take on the Michigan State Spartans. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Northwestern Michigan State prediction and pick.
The Northwestern Wildcats started the season with several wins, but then they got derailed in two straight abysmal performances, one on offense and the other at both ends of the floor. Northwestern suffered a 43-42 loss to Auburn in which its defense was tremendous but its offense was a complete catastrophe. Then the Wildcats totally embarrassed themselves in an 87-58 home-court loss to a not-very-good Pittsburgh Panther team which will almost certainly finish in the lower tier of the ACC. It would be one thing to lose to Duke or Virginia by 29 — not that it would reflect well on NU — but to get crushed by Pitt is unspeakably awful. Northwestern coach Chris Collins, who got this program its first NCAA Tournament appearance and victory in 2017, has not been able to build on that big moment at all. That failure is one of the more conspicuous surprises in recent college basketball — not because Northwestern was such an established program, but because that 2017 NCAA Tournament was supposed to have unlocked the Chicago recruiting pipeline NU had worked so hard to establish over a longer period of time. Surely the talent was going to flow into the program and Northwestern was going to change its identity.
No. It did not happen. The Wildcats look stuck, and they need a big statement win to change the conversation. Winning in East Lansing just might do it, but NU would have to build off this game if it does pull off a surprise. Occasional upsets aren't going to get it done; consistent performance will.
Michigan State needed a few days off. This early-season schedule has been absolutely exhausting for the Spartans under Tom Izzo. They played in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament in Portland. That came after playing Gonzaga and Kentucky. After their trip to Portland, the Spartans played at Notre Dame in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. They are probably a better team than Notre Dame — the Irish just lost at home to Syracuse and have wobbled at times this season — but Michigan State's brutal schedule seemed to leave the Spartans worn out. They just did not have their legs under them against Notre Dame. Was that loss to the Irish a sign of weakness, or just the schedule catching up with them? We might get a better idea after this Big Ten opener versus Northwestern.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Northwestern-Michigan StateCollege Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Northwestern-Michigan State Odds
Northwestern Wildcats: +6.5 (-118)
Michigan State Spartans: -6.5 (-104)
Over: 127.5 (-110)
Under: 127.5 (-110)
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Why Northwestern Could Cover the Spread
The Wildcats, if you have paid attention to this particular head-to-head series, have won recently in the Breslin Center in East Lansing. They have been a thorny, problematic opponent for Michigan State — not always winning, but frequently giving the Spartans trouble. Given that Michigan State is in a small rut, it's reasonable to think a motivated NU team can cover the spread once again.
Why Michigan State Could Cover the Spread
We have seen how bad Northwestern can be in the recent Auburn and Pitt losses. Michigan State is fresh and rested after several necessary days off. The Spartans will roll in this one.
Final Northwestern-Michigan State Prediction & Pick
Michigan State's defense and fresh legs will lead to a comfortable win for Tom Izzo's team.
Final Northwestern-Michigan State Prediction & Pick: Michigan State -6.5
