Thursday night’s Michigan State vs San Jose State game will grab the real college basketball sickos’ attention as one of those games that should end in a lopsided affair.
Michigan State enters the game off two wins to start the season, including a thrilling victory over No. 14 Arkansas. That win moved the Spartans up five spots in the AP Top 25, and now the No. 17 team in the country stays home for a third straight game to take on 0-2 San Jose State.
San Jose State lost its first two games of the season, dropping a road game against Utah by nine before losing to UC Santa Barbara by 11. While these weren’t exactly blowout losses, they weren’t very close either. San Jose State’s defense has been horrendous through two games, allowing 84.5 points per game.
For that reason, you know Vegas is riding with the Michigan State Spartans on Thursday night.
Note: Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of Thursday afternoon.
Line: Michigan State -24.5
Over/Under: 142.5
Moneyline: Michigan State -6500 | San Jose State +2000
The line is actually moving more in Michigan State’s direction. The line to begin the day on Thursday was 22.5 points in favor of Michigan State, but it’s now up to 24.5. It seems as if the big money is on Tom Izzo’s team, but you can’t ever overlook anyone in college basketball — ask Purdue how fun that Oakland game was.
What do I see happening? I think Michigan State holds a comfortable lead throughout, but doesn’t quite cover that 24.5 points because the 3-point shooting just hasn’t been there. Until Michigan State proves it can hit threes consistently, I don’t see it covering big spreads.
Prediction: San Jose State 63, Michigan State 84