Oddmakers Give Michigan State Edge over Ohio State

Sports News - February 21st, 2010 - Written By Bryan Cross

The Spartans have struggled of late, losing three of their last five contests. Prior to a loss at home to Purdue, Ohio State was one of the hottest teams in the country. A run at a top seed in the NCAA tournament seems unlikely, but a win for either team would give the confidence needed as the conference tournament approaches.

Ohio State lost a tough game to Purdue in their last outing. Forward Evan Turner continued his brilliant play this season, tabbing a game high 29 points, but it was not enough to get a win for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State fell behind early and was not able to recover. Against Michigan State, they will have to try and get off to a better start if they hope to take down the Spartans. They will need to have other players on the floor step up. Turner took 21 of the Buckeye's 48 shots against Purdue.

Buckeye head coach Thad Matta hopes that his team is not suffering from a hangover effect after last games' loss. There is still too much to play for as the season comes to the final weeks.

"You can't hang (your heads)," he said. "When we were sitting at 1-3 (in the Big Ten), there was a great opportunity for us to drop our heads and not continue to work and strive to be better. To these guys' credit, they kept their foot on the pedal. That's kind of what we've got to do."

Turner is averaging 19.5 points per game this season and Michigan States' defense will focus on shutting him down. Guards William Buford and Jon Diebler are both averaging over 12 points per game, and provide the Buckeye front court with a real scoring threat.

"I know (Turner's) gonna bring it and their team's gonna bring it," said Michigan State point guard Kalin Lucas. "So we'll have to bring it, bring our 'A' game."

Lucas has put up impressive number of his own this year for Michigan State. Last season's Big-10 player of the year is averaging close to 16 points per game, and four assists.

The Spartans were on a 10-game win streak before consecutive losses to Wisconsin, Illinois and Purdue. They have rebounded with back-to-back victories over Penn State and Indiana, to get back on the winning side of the scoreboard.

The Spartans spread the ball around well. Four of the five starters average over 10 points per game. They also play solid man-to-man defense and rely on their athleticism to force their opponent into mistakes that cause turnovers.

There are only four regular season games on the schedule before the conference tournament, and both sides know the implications of this game.

"It's a big game, it's what you come to college for - to play for championships late in the season," Spartan head coach Tom Izzo said. "That's all I'm trying to tell them. If we are a league contender, we've got to show it this week."

Oddmakers are favoring Michigan State in this match up, as they have installed the Spartans as four-point favorites to defeat the Buckeyes at home, according to the College Basketball Betting Lines at Bodog sportsbook. The over/under for the game has been set at 135.