Michigan State Spartans vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 1/25/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2025

Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ

TV: CBS

Jersey Mike’s Arena is the location where the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-9) will go up against the Michigan State Spartans (16-2) on Saturday.

The Michigan State Spartans faced off with Illinois and went home with a win by a final score of 80-78 in their last game. Concerning personal fouls, the Spartans ended up with 20 and Illinois recorded 20 personal fouls. They also buried 5 out of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc. Illinois finished shooting 63.0% from the free throw line by making 17 of their 27 tries. On top of that, Illinois pulled down 38 boards (13 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Illinois doled out 16 dimes and had 3 steals for the contest. In regard to defending, Michigan State allowed the other team to shoot 42.4% from the field on 28 of 66 shooting. They also recorded 14 assists in the game while forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and earning 2 steals. When discussing pulling down boards, they compiled 35 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Spartans buried 21 of their 27 tries for a percentage of 77.8%. Michigan State ended having earned a 43.1% field goal percentage (28 out of 65) and made 3 out of their 10 shots from distance.

Tre Holloman is someone who was a major factor in this matchup. He totaled 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He saw the court for 23 mins and also collected 2 boards. He shot 55.6% from the field and also recorded 2 dimes.

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Michigan State enters this one with a win-loss record of 16-2 on the season. They cough up possession 12.0 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.6 fouls per game. As a unit, Michigan State is pulling in 40.7 rebounds per game and is sitting with 330 dimes so far this year, which is 17th in college in terms of passing the ball. The Spartans are connecting on 28.8% on three-point attempts (99 of 344) and 81.3% from the free throw line. They are averaging 81.7 points per outing (37th in the nation) while hitting 47.5% from the floor.

Defensively, the Spartans have forced 12.4 turnovers per game and they draw 20.1 fouls. They currently rank 162nd in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 240 conceded for the season. The Spartans are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 40.1% (429 of 1,070) and they surrender 31.1 rebounds per game as a unit. They concede 28.9% on 3-point shots and they are 76th in college in points per game allowed (67.7).

In their last game, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights took a defeat with a final score of 80-72 against Penn State. The Scarlet Knights were able to snag 23 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 33 in this game. They also gave up possession 16 times, while getting 7 steals in this contest. Penn State committed 14 fouls in the game which took the Scarlet Knights to the charity stripe for a total of 14 tries. They were able to bury 11 of those for a clip of 78.6%. In relation to 3-point attempts, Rutgers made 7 of their 21 attempts (33.3%). When this game wrapped up, the Scarlet Knights finished shooting 27 for 54 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0%. The Scarlet Knights allowed Penn State to bury 24 out of 49 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.0% in the matchup. They wrapped up this game 47.6% from three-point range by shooting 10 out of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 22 of 27 at the charity stripe (81.5%). With respect to rebounding, Rutgers permitted Penn State to pull down 20 overall (3 on the offensive side).

Airious Bailey was important for the Scarlet Knights for this game. He tallied 30 points in his 30 mins on the court, but wasn't able to tally an assist. He buried 13 of 15 in this contest for a rate of 86.7%, and added 7 rebounds.

Rutgers has a win-loss mark of 10-9 for the season. The Scarlet Knights are committing 17.1 personal fouls every game while shooting 69.5% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 13.3 times per game (230th in college) and they are turning it over 11.0 times per contest. Rutgers has scored 1,455 pts this season (76.6 per game) and they collect 36.9 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Scarlet Knights are hitting on 45.2% from the field, which has them ranked 162nd in college.

The Scarlet Knights on the defensive side of the court are 275th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 74.9. They are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 44.8% from the floor (262nd in D-1). The Rutgers defense surrenders 34.5% on shots from 3-point land (154 of 446) and opponents are making 67.6% of their foul shots. They allow 14.1 assists and 36.0 boards per contest, which ranks 260th and 266th in the nation.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Rutgers

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