It's been an interesting past month for both the Spartans and Ducks and that's what makes Friday afternoon's Michigan State vs. Oregon game that much more intriguing.
This is the first time since 2017 that a 1-seed in the Big Ten Tournament is facing a ranked team after its earned double-bye. The last time this happened, Purdue lost to Michigan in their first game as the Wolverines advanced to the semifinals in 2017. Michigan State is hoping for some better luck here.
After beating Oregon in the last matchup thanks to a monster second half, Michigan State would go on to win seven of its final eight games to secure Tom Izzo's 11th Big Ten title by a whopping three (!!) games. This was also the deepest Big Ten field in over a decade with seven ranked teams and the Spartans reeled off seven straight Quad 1 wins in arguably the toughest stretch of the season of any team in the conference.
Oregon, on the other hand, has won eight straight games since that first matchup and the Ducks have been playing their best basketball of the season.
This matchup on Friday will be fun, and Vegas agrees.
According to DraftKings, Michigan State is a somewhat comfortable favorite heading into Friday afternoon's matchup in Indianapolis, just one day after the Ducks beat Indiana by 13.
Line: Michigan State -6.5
Over/Under: 142.5
Moneyline: Michigan State -278 | Oregon +225
So what's the pick here? While this isn't advice, but rather what I am going with, I'll say Michigan State wins this one, 77-68, covering the spread and hitting the over, just barely.
I think the Spartans' depth is going to wear the Ducks down and Michigan State is healthy for this matchup -- the Spartans were down two players in the first meeting. This team is on a tear right now and while the Spartans don't need a win here as they're likely locked in to a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament, there's still a slim chance for a 1-seed, so don't expect them to roll over.
It'll be a fun game, but I'm taking Michigan State by nine.