Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Interesting note regarding Michigan State basketball vs. Washington betting odds

Izzone Alumni night hits different.

ByConnor Muldowney|
Dec 30, 2024; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; The Michigan State Spartans bench reacts after a basket late in their game against the Western Michigan Broncos at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; The Michigan State Spartans bench reacts after a basket late in their game against the Western Michigan Broncos at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images | Dale Young-Imagn Images

Wake up, Spartan fans, it's game day. For the fourth time this season, Michigan State basketball is gearing up for a Big Ten battle and for the second time, it's at home.

Unlike the previous home contest, the Izzone will look a little different -- a tad older.

That's right, it's the Izzone Alumni game which happens every January and this year, it's Washington that gets to face the hostile "student" section filled with Izzone alums. For some reason, this game is usually one of the loudest of the year and Tom Izzo constantly gives it props for helping the Spartans overcome whichever Big Ten opponent comes to town for it.

But if you're looking to bet on the game, the lines released look interesting, but I'm a little surprised Washington hasn't closed the spread a bit because of its performance against Illinois.

In fact, here are the odds as of Thursday afternoon via DraftKings:

Line: Michigan State -13.5
Over/Under: 144.5
Moneyline: Michigan State -1350 | Washington +800

So are you curious about where to put your money? Well, you may want to consider one thing. I saw an interesting stat on X that had me double-check to make sure it was accurate.

So I checked the last five Izzone Alumni games to confirm and here are the results:

2024: Michigan State 92, Penn State 61 (spread: MSU -13.5)
2023: Michigan State 74, Nebraska 56 (spread: MSU -7.5)
2022: Michigan State 79, Nebraska 67 (spread: MSU -15.5)
2021: COVID-19
2020: Michigan State 76, Illinois 56 (spread: MSU -9.5)
2019: Michigan State 81, Northwestern 55 (spread: N/A)

For some reason, the 2019 spread wasn't trackable, but I would assume it was somewhere in the 10-11-point range in favor of the Spartans and they won by 26. On average over the past five Izzone Alumni games, Michigan State has won by 23.4 points. They've also covered the spread by an average of 11.6 extra points, if we're assuming the spread in 2019 was -10.5.

So if you're betting on tonight's game, you might want to bite on Michigan State and the points.

Home/Spartans Basketball