Michigan State Spartans vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 1/28/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Thursday, January 28, 2021

Location: Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, NJ

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Michigan State (+2.5)

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-6) host the Michigan State Spartans (8-4) at Rutgers Athletic Center on Thursday. Michigan State opens this contest as 2.5-point dogs. The O/U is set at 143.

Michigan State comes into this game with a mark of 8-4 on the campaign. They average 76.0 pts per contest (93rd in the country) while hitting 44.8% from the floor. The Spartans are connecting on 34.7% on 3-pointers (93 of 268) and 76.6% from the free throw line. As a team, Michigan State is pulling down 38.6 boards per game and has accumulated 230 assists so far this year, which is 49th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 13.7 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis. Defensively, the Spartans are forcing 11.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.4 personal fouls. They are ranked 162nd in college hoops in allowing assists with 163 surrendered so far this season. The Spartans are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.8% (299 of 715) and they surrender 33.2 boards per contest as a unit. They are giving up 32.9% on three-point shots and they are ranked 213th in the nation in points per game allowed (71.3).

The Michigan State Spartans faced the Purdue Boilermakers and ended up losing by a score of 55-54 in their last game. Michigan State wrapped up the game having earned a 39.0% field goal percentage (16 of 41) and converted 3 of their 13 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Spartans buried 19 of 25 tries for a percentage of 76.0%. Concerning grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 30 with 6 of them being offensive. They also dished out 12 assists in this contest as well as earning 4 steals and 9 rejections. With regard to defense, Michigan State allowed the other team to go 39.0% from the floor on 16 out of 41 shooting. Purdue distributed 9 dimes and had 2 steals for this game. In addition, the Boilermakers grabbed 31 rebounds (11 offensive, 20 defensive) and added 9 blocks. Purdue finished the game shooting 73.7% from the free throw line by making 14 of their 19 attempts. They converted 3 of their 24 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Aaron Henry is one guy who was a major factor in the matchup. He ended up finishing with 13 points on 3 of 8 shooting. He saw the court for 30 minutes and snagged 7 rebounds. Henry shot 37.5% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists. One more player that was a determining factor in this game for the Spartans was Joshua Langford. He collected 4 boards and also accumulated 2 assists. He ended up going 36.4% from the floor for the matchup by connecting on 4-of-11 (10 points). Overall, Langford was on the hardwood for 28 minutes.

Rutgers has a record of 8-6 for the year. Rutgers has earned 1,028 points on the year (73.4 per contest) and they collect 36.4 boards per game. The Scarlet Knights have committed 17.4 personal fouls every game and they hit 57.9% from the charity stripe. On the offensive side of the court, the Scarlet Knights are shooting 46.2% from the field, which has them ranked 94th in the country. They are assisting teammates 15.1 times per game (85th in the country) and they turn the ball over 10.4 times per contest. The Scarlet Knights on the defensive side of the court are 207th in college basketball in points given up per game with 71.1. The Rutgers defense gives up 33.4% on 3-point attempts (99 of 296) and opponents are converting on 72.0% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 13.7 assists and 36.5 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 227th and 240th in the nation. They are forcing their opponents into 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.1% from the floor (184th in college basketball).

In their last game, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights went home victorious with a score of 74-70 when they faced the Indiana Hoosiers. The Scarlet Knights recorded 25 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in the game. They also blocked 7 tries while getting 8 steals in the game. The Hoosiers were called for 13 personal fouls in this game which took the Scarlet Knights to the charity stripe for a total of 17 shots. They were able to knock down 12 of the free throws for a percentage of 70.6%. When talking about 3-pointers, Rutgers converted 8 of 22 tries (36.4%). When the game finished, the Scarlet Knights finished the game shooting 27 for 53 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.9%. The Scarlet Knights permitted the Hoosiers to make 24 of 56 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 42.9% in this contest. They finished 62.5% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 10 out of 16 and finished the contest at 12 of 17 at the free throw line (70.6%). When talking about cleaning up the glass, Rutgers permitted Indiana to collect 25 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Geo Baker ended up having an impact for the Scarlet Knights in the matchup. He knocked down 7 of 15 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 46.7%, which earned him 19 points. Baker pulled down 2 boards in his 37 minutes played and added 5 dimes in the matchup. Someone else that ended being a contributor for Rutgers was Ron Harper. He ended up finishing with 15 points in his 37 minutes played by way of 4 of 10 shooting for this contest. Harper ended the game having shot 40.0% from the field while contributing 2 assists and 12 rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Rutgers (-2.5) and over 143 points

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