The Arkansas Razorbacks and Michigan State Spartans will meet in one of the big games of the night in college basketball on Saturday. Both teams got their season off to a fast start against teams from smaller conferences, but only one of them will improve to 2-0 with a win here. Before tip-off from East Lansing, continue reading to get my Arkansas vs Michigan State prediction for tonight's big matchup in college basketball.
Pick: Michigan State -1.5
Confidence: 3/5
Arkansas had a great opener to this season with a 109-77 blowout of Southern. Freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. poured in 22 points and 4 assists and fellow freshman guard Meleek Thomas chipped in 21 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. Forward Trevon Brazile logged a team-high 25 points and 11 rebounds. The Razorbacks' athleticism will be tested on the road against a veteran-laden MSU squad.
Michigan State opened their season with an 80-69 win over Colgate despite shooting just 41.7% from the field and turning the ball over 15 times. Their bread-and-butter remains rebounding and defense. They pulled down 47 rebounds in the opener and enjoyed a dominant 24-4 advantage in points from the free-throw line. The key for MSU will be limiting Arkansas’ pace and transition opportunities and preventing second chances.
Both of these teams are ranked in the top 25 going into this game and that makes it a great chance for both of these teams to get a resume-building win early on. A loss here won't count against either team too severely, but a win will carry a lot of value later in the year when these teams are evaluated by the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
Score Projection: Arkansas 72 – Michigan State 75
Win Probability: Arkansas 42%, Michigan State 58%
This is going to be an interesting early-season test for both of these teams in East Lansing. I think that the home-court advantage for the Spartans will be the difference maker in this contest, with very little else to separate these programs. I'll go with Michigan State to win and cover the spread in this intriguing game between SEC and Big Ten teams.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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