In case you’ve forgotten that Tom Izzo and the Spartans are still playing basketball amid all this football coaching change madness, you may want to tune in to Saturday’s showdown. The Michigan State vs Duke game on Saturday afternoon is going to be one of the most anticipated games in years.
The Spartans come into the game 8-0 with three Quad 1 victories already while Duke is 9-0 and the Blue Devils are fresh off a nice home win over Florida that came down to the wire.
Michigan State, on the other hand, just handled Iowa by 19 in the Big Ten opener, and it was the Hawkeyes’ first loss under new head coach Ben McCollum. They were the first team outside the AP Top 25 this week, but Michigan State ensured that they won’t be sneaking in just yet.
As was expected before the season began, Duke is the toughest test that Michigan State is going to get in non-conference play. The Blue Devils are loaded and might just have the best player in the country in Cameron Boozer, a true freshman sensation. He has been dominating opposing defenses all season, but I doubt he’s seen a defense quite like Michigan State’s yet.
The Spartans will be ready, the Breslin will be rocking, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Pat Fitzgerald is courtside yet again, cheering on his new school.
Vegas has released the opening odds for the game, and they’re not at all shocking — unless maybe you expected the line to move absolutely zero percent since the season started. If the line was made before the season, I’d expect Duke to be 6-8-point favorites, but since Michigan State looks like one of the best teams in the country, that line has moved in the Spartans’ favor.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of Thursday, Dec. 4.
Line: Michigan State -1.5
Over/Under: 138.5
Moneyline: Not yet available
I’m expecting this to flip back-and-forth until Saturday afternoon, but I think the Spartans will take care of business as the favorites. They’re going to exchange leads about 15 times throughout the game, but I just don’t see this well-put-together team dropping a massive opportunity at home against a young Duke squad.