Tom Izzo needs his team to get right heading into the February 12th Indiana at Michigan State betting matchup. the Spartans have lost their last two games at Rutgers and at home against Wisconsin which has dropped them to 8-4 in the Big Ten, a game back in the loss column from the Badgers and Illinois.
Indiana is 7-6 in conference play losing their last two as well at home to Illinois and at Northwestern on Tuesday night. The Hoosiers have a couple impressive Big Ten wins against Ohio State and Purdue, but both of those were also in Bloomington. IU is just 2-5 on the road this season while the Spartans have gone 9-2 in East Lansing.
Hoosiers Offense Laying Duds
IU comes into the February 12th Indiana at Michigan State betting matchup having dropped two in a row, with their offense looking especially bad. The Hoosiers fell 74-57 to Illinois last Saturday when they were outscored 40-21 in the second half. Indiana again let a game get away after halftime on Tuesday with Northwestern holding a 33-21 over the final 20 minutes to get a 59-51 win.
Indiana does have the #1 defense in the Big Ten (63.3 ppg) but that doesn’t do much good if their offense continues to struggle. Trayce Jackson-Davis averages 17.4 ppg, but has scored just 19 points total in the losses to the Fighting Illini and Northwestern. Race Thompson has been IU’s most consistent scorer lately with 13+ points in four straight.
What’s hard to overlook ahead of Saturday afternoon’s matchup is just how bad Indiana has been on the road, even dating back to last season. The Hoosiers are 2-11-1 ATS in their last 13 road games which includes failing to cover the number in 8 straight as a road underdog. The home team has also gone 7-2 ATS in the last 9 head to head meetings between these two schools.
Spartans Can Bounce Back Here
Sure Michigan State has lost two in a row, but one of those was at Rutgers where the Scarlet Knights are 12-2 on the season and the other was against Wisconsin who was in revenge mode after the Spartans won 86-74 earlier in the year in Madison. One of MSU’s other losses was a 1-point loss at Illinois who is up to #13 in the nation.
A 64-62 home loss to Northwestern in mid-January was a hiccup (especially as -9.5 underdogs), and that loss has to be in the back of bettors’ minds with Michigan State giving -4 points on Saturday. The Spartans also stomped Michigan 83-67 in East Lansing at the end of January (as -4 point favorites) so they also have the potential to blow out Indiana in this contest.
One big concern for Izzo is that the Spartans have been held to under 65 points in three straight games and they are up against the conference’s top defense. Gabe Brown had a 20-point outing against Rutgers but has been held in single digits in three of four. Marcus Bingham, Jr. and Malik Hall have both scored in double figures in three of the last four.
Free February 12th Indiana at Michigan State Betting Pick
The Spartans won by 6 points (64-58) when Indiana visited the Breslin Center last March to complete the season sweep (also won 79-71 in Bloomington). Although Michigan State hasn’t looked the best their last two games, that’s just more motivation to step things up on Saturday afternoon. Indiana has faltered in the second half their last two games, and the MSU faithful will make sure that trend reaches three.
Michigan State 70 – Indiana 61
Free Pick: Michigan State -4
Free Pick: Under 134.5
