Michigan State Spartans vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 2/4/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023

Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ

TV: fuboTV

Jersey Mike’s Arena is the location where the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (15-7) will compete against the Michigan State Spartans (14-8) on Saturday.

The Michigan State Spartans faced Purdue and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-61 in their last game. Regarding personal fouls, the Spartans ended up walking away with 19 and Purdue accounted for 14 personal fouls. They made 7 of 17 attempts from 3-point range. Purdue finished the contest at 54.5% when shooting free throws by burying 12 of 22 tries. On top of that, Purdue grabbed 36 boards (11 offensive, 25 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Purdue dished out 21 dimes and had 5 steals for this game. Regarding defense, Michigan State allowed the other team to go 50.0% from the field on 29 of 58 shooting. They also dished out 14 assists for the game as well as creating 8 turnovers and having 6 steals. With respect to hauling in rebounds, they earned 23 with 1 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Spartans converted 10 of their 16 attempts for a percentage of 62.5%. Michigan State walked away from the contest having earned a 47.9% FG percentage (23 of 48) and made 5 of 10 shots from beyond the arc.

A.J. Hoggard is one player who played a role in this matchup. He walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the field and also totaled 6 assists. He played for 30 minutes and grabbed 4 rebounds. He walked away with 20 points on 6 of 10 shooting.

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Michigan State will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 14-8 on the year. They are averaging 69.0 pts per game (250th in the country) on 44.5% from the field. The Spartans are hitting 37.9% on three-point attempts (153 of 404) and 73.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Michigan State is snagging 36.5 boards per contest and has 329 dimes this year, which is 83rd in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.0 times per contest and as a group they are committing 16.5 personal fouls per game.

Defensively, the Spartans are forcing 9.7 turnovers every game while drawing 15.9 fouls. They are giving up 30.5% on 3-point attempts while they are 83rd in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (66.1). The Spartans are giving up a FG percentage of 41.2% (528 of 1,283) and they surrender 33.1 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 178th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 283 conceded on the season.

In their last game, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights took home the win by a final score of 90-55 against Minnesota. With respect to rebounding, Rutgers allowed Minnesota to snag 30 in all (11 offensive). They went 20.0% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 5 out of 25 and walked away from this one shooting 6 out of 7 at the free throw line (85.7%). The Scarlet Knights permitted Minnesota to bury 22 of their 61 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 36.1% in this contest. In all, the Scarlet Knights shot 37 for 62 from the floor which gave them a rate of 59.7%. With respect to shooting from 3-point land, Rutgers converted 10 of 20 tries (50.0%). They were able to knock down 6 of the free throw tries for a rate of 66.7%. Minnesota committed 13 fouls for the game which got the Scarlet Knights to the charity stripe for a total of 9 shots. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while recording 10 steals for the contest. The Scarlet Knights recorded 28 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 33 in this matchup.

Cam Spencer was important for the Scarlet Knights for the contest. He converted 5 out of 6 in this game giving him a rate of 83.3%, and tallied 3 rebounds. He scored 17 points in his 28 mins of playing time and had 6 assists in this matchup.

Rutgers has a win-loss record of 15-7 so far this season. The Scarlet Knights commit 15.9 fouls every game and they hit 74.0% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 16.1 times per contest (27th in the country) and they turn it over 12.0 times per contest. Rutgers has tallied 1,571 points on the year (71.4 per game) and they grab 38.6 rebounds per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Scarlet Knights are hitting on 44.1% from the field, which is ranked 215th in D-1.

The Rutgers defense concedes 29.4% from downtown (151 of 514) and their opponents are converting on 69.0% of their foul shots. They surrender 11.5 dimes and 33.6 total boards per game, which ranks them 92nd and 144th in college basketball. The Scarlet Knights are ranked 6th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 58.5. They are able to force 15.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 37.7% from the floor (5th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Michigan State

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