Men’s College Basketball - Oregon Ducks at Michigan State Spartans Same Game Parlay Pick

Tom Izzo looks to have his best team in five years this season. Izzo has been one of the most consistent coaches in college basketball during his almost three decades in East Lansing, and he picked up his 700th win and coached in his 1,000th game for the Michigan State Spartans last month. His teams are always tough to take down in the NCAA Tournament, but they have struggled with West Coast teams in the past week. The Spartans fell to the USC Trojans 70-64 on the road and dropped a close one 63-61 to UCLA in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Those were their first two losses in Big Ten play, and the Spartans are looking to right the ship with a home game against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.

Big Ten basketball betting is available throughout the season!

Oregon is currently a bubble team at 16-7. The Ducks won their first nine games and have some nice victories over Texas A&M, San Diego State, Alabama, and USC to their credit. However, they have lost four straight games coming into this showdown with a couple of bad losses to Minnesota and Nebraska in that stretch.

Prior to their recent downturn, Michigan State’s only two losses this season came against Kansas and Memphis. Both of those games were at neutral sites, so the Spartans have an unblemished 11-0 record in East Lansing coming into Saturday’s noon showdown. 

Oregon Ducks at Michigan State Spartans SGP

Center Nate Bittle is the leading scorer for the Ducks at 12.7 PPG. Bittle has been one of the most effective shooters in the country thanks to his 7’0 frame, and he has also shown that he can knock down some threes at times. Of course, he is also the leading rebounder for Oregon at 7.2 RPG.

Brandon Angel has been an effective shooter, knocking down 57.2% of his field goals. However, he has not been great on the glass despite his size and minutes. Angel is 6’9 and averaging just 4.0 RPG with a team that usually plays a three-guard lineup, leading to the Ducks ranking in the middle of the pack in terms of rebounding. 

The two guards to watch for Oregon are Jackson Shelstad and T.J. Bamba. Shelstad is scoring 12.5 PPG and hitting a respectable 37.1% of his threes, while Bamba hasn’t been nearly as efficient. The latter guard is averaging 10.7 PPG while making just 37.5% of his field goals and 25% of his three-point attempts.

That is one of the areas that Michigan State can exploit on its way to a victory here. The Spartans rank 18th in offensive rebounding and 24th in defensive rebounding according to Ken Pomeroy. That allows Michigan State to grind out extra possessions while denying opponents easy second chance attempts.

Senior Jaden Akins is the leader of the Spartans. Akins is the one Michigan State player averaging double figures in scoring (13.5 PPG) even though he is making just 42.7% of his field goals and 29.7% of his threes.

Michigan State’s next two leading scorers have been much more efficient shooters. Jase Richardson is averaging 9.3 PPG while making 52.3% of his field goals and 40% of his threes, while Coen Carr is averaging 8.6 PPG and making 60.3% of his field goals and 37.5% of his treys.

The Spartans are very fundamentally sound, but they do have a major weakness. Michigan State is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country. This team is making just 28.7% of its triples, ranking 348th in Division I. Defensively, they are excellent as usual, ranking 11th in that regard, and the Spartans excel at perimeter defense. The only thing they don’t really do that well on defense is force turnovers, but that comes with the territory.

I believe Michigan State wipes away its recent woes with a dominant defensive performance in this game. The Spartans might hold the Ducks under 60 points, and that would almost certainly be enough to get the cover and cash the under in this game too.

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS VS. OREGON DUCKS UNDER

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS TO COVER

Big Ten basketball betting is available throughout the season!