Northern Iowa vs Michigan State Odds
Written by Anthony Moretti - Google +
On Friday in one of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region Sweet Sixteen games the #9 seed Northern Iowa Panthers will square off against the #5 seed Michigan State Spartans. Northern Iowa pulled out two impressive victories to get to this point. They first knocked out #9 seed UNLV with a three point victory, then shocked overall #1 seed Kansas, holding off a late run by the Jayhawks and winning 69-67. Michigan State earned a three point victory in their first round game as well, over #12 seed New Mexico State, then had an exciting finish of their own against #4 seed Maryland in the second round. Oddsmakers are expecting a tight one between these two with the latest lines showing Michigan State as a 1 point favorite. The over/under for the game is currently 121 points.
#9 Northern Iowa against #5 Michigan State - Team defense, hustle, and timely shooting have been the winning combination for Northern Iowa so far in the tournament. They don’t have a single player that averages over 12 points per game, but with one of the leading scoring defenses in the nation they don’t need a lot of points. Michigan State does have a player that averaged over 14.8 points per game this season in Kalin Lucas (14.8 ppg), but Lucas was lost for the rest of the season with an achilles injury in the Spartan’s win over Maryland. Even without Lucas, Michigan State creates problems for Northern Iowa because they are faster and stronger than the Panthers. Raymar Morgan is a quick big man that Northern Iowa doesn’t really have an answer for on defense and I would imagine the Spartans will try to get him as many touches as possible with Lucas out. With Lucas playing at full strength the Spartans probably win this game or at least have a better chance to do so. With their leading scorer and assist man out, I just can’t see Michigan State overcoming this smart, tough Northern Iowa team.
Final Score Prediction: Northern Iowa 63, Michigan State 57
2 Responses to “Northern Iowa vs Michigan State Odds”
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A huge factor in the Michigan state vs. Northern Iowa matchup will be Michigan State’s ability to hold on to the ball. In their game against Maryland the amount of times they turned the ball over was embarrasing to say the least. If they can manage to control the ball they have a chance at victory, even without Lucas.
Luke – I agree with you there. Actually, both of these teams seemed to have problems when they were pressed in the last round. Whoever ends up winning the turnover battle probably walks away with the win, which is so often the case.