Saturday’s Michigan State vs Penn State game marks the first road test of the season for the Spartans, and it comes against an 8-2 Nittany Lions squad.
Michigan State is 8-1 on the season, suffering its first loss a week ago against Duke at the Breslin Center. It was a game that seemingly got away from the Spartans in the final minutes, and we can thank the zone defense for that. Tom Izzo once again had a tough time countering the zone defense, and Duke had to audible to that in the final minutes because of Cameron Boozer’s foul trouble.
Penn State, on the other hand, is 8-2 on the season with two double-digit losses. The first was against Providence back in November and the second as a 41-point drubbing at Indiana earlier this week. The Nittany Lions’ pride may have been hurt a bit after that loss.
One of these two teams will bounce back on Saturday afternoon in Happy Valley.
Michigan State will need to stay focused and not take the Nittany Lions lightly because the Bryce Jordan Center will be rocking on Saturday with the No. 9 team in college basketball in town.
What does Vegas think about Saturday’s game?
Michigan State vs Penn State final odds
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of Saturday, Dec. 13.
Line: Michigan State -11.5
Over/Under: 145.5
Moneyline: Michigan State -750 | Penn State +525
The Spartans are heavy favorites on the road, and I’m slightly surprised to see it as a double-digit-point spread, especially since this is a Big Ten road game. Even Vegas knows that winning on the road in the Big Ten isn’t easy, especially against an 8-2 team. However, it did just watch Penn State lose by 40 at Indiana earlier this week.
What do I see happening? I think Michigan State controls this game and shuts out the noise. The Spartans will take the crowd out of it early and they’ll maintain a healthy lead throughout.
Michigan State wins this one comfortably and improves to 2-0 in the Big Ten before getting back to non-conference play for the rest of December.
Prediction: Michigan State 81, Penn State 65