The Spartans are back in action on Saturday afternoon after flying home from a perfect 2-0 West Coast trip against Washington and Oregon. Saturday’s Michigan State vs Maryland game will (hopefully) be a confidence-booster before the Spartans hit a tough stretch of games.
Michigan State will get another favorable matchup before playing No. 3 Michigan on Jan. 30, but tightening up some things against Maryland is important.
Tom Izzo has already answered a million questions about his interaction with Kur Teng during the Oregon game, so you know he’s excited to get back to action on Saturday afternoon.
Maryland comes to East Lansing riding one heck of a cold streak. After a 5-1 start to the season, the Terrapins have lost 10 of their lost 13 games. They’re just 8-11 overall and 1-7 in Big Ten play. Buzz Williams hasn’t had a ton of luck in his first season with the Terrapins, but he’s a good enough coach that he’ll likely turn things around in a year or two.
Like the last two Michigan State opponents, the Terrapins are trending in the wrong direction as opposed to the Spartans who are winners of five straight Big Ten games by double figures.
Vegas hasn’t taken that into consideration, and you can tell the recent cold streak for the Terrapons and hot streak for the Spartans has played into the (lopsided) opening odds.
Michigan State vs Maryland opening odds
As to be expected, Michigan State is a heavy early favorite against Maryland.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of Jan. 23.
Line: Michigan State -18.5
Over/Under: 140.5
Moneyline: Michigan State -3200 | Maryland +1400
It’s pretty clear that no one is expecting Michigan State to have much trouble with the Terrapins, and I really don’t either. The Spartans are taking care of all the Big Ten teams in their path, and they’re coming back home to face one of the worst teams in the league.
Plus, beating Darius Adams would be fun after he spurned the Spartans for Maryland.
I’m going to assume Jeremy Fears and Co. will take care of business before a road trip to New Jersey to face Rutgers and then back home to host Michigan next week.
Hate Week is almost upon us.