Scoring Should Be Showcased In Big 10 Battle

Purdue vs. Michigan State, 7:00 ET

That's more like it! I was able to get off the average schnide and get into a nice evening with two wins on the plays last night. I suppose some will call them obvious plays, but I personally think if you feel that way, you probably aren't reading these articles anyway. I went back to the well with Duke yesterday and was rewarded once again. I think I've only taken two losses on their games this season with everything else resulting in cash in my pocket. I've bet them a lot but sometimes it is good to just bet on the team you know. Tonight I'm trying to get some cash on a team that took some from me this weekend as Purdue takes on Michigan State. 

I was sure that Purdue was going to take the game on Saturday. I didn't play it at a higher value than one unit, but I was really confident in the pick. They unfortunately went out and laid an egg. It was their second straight loss, but this was at home. Wisconsin is a good team, but beating Purdue on the road by 10 isn't something that should happen if the Boilermakers want to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps it is just a small blip in an otherwise successful season. The two-game losing streak put them up to seven losses for the year, so there isn't really a reason to panic. They have dropped games now to Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State in the Big 10, and Auburn, Texas A&M, and Marquette outside of that. Their offense has looked very good lately, but their defense is a bit concerning because they aren't getting the stops when they need them. Still, if they are putting up 80+ in five of their past seven games, they have to be doing something right. 

Nov 11, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter talks with his players during a timeout during the second half against the Yale Bulldogs at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Michigan State was a bit under the radar to start this season, but they've climbed their way up the ranks and currently sit as the 14th-ranked team in the nation. This is about where they should be. Perhaps they are slightly overrated, but they sit at 20-5 so their record reflects a lot of success as well. A lot of their struggle has come in the past five games. They started the year 5-2 with losses to Kansas and Memphis, both games on neutral courts. They then ran off 13 straight games. February hasn't been quite as kind to the Spartans though. They have dropped road games to USC and UCLA, then returned home to beat Oregon before dropping a game to Indiana at home. They did respond with a win against Illinois on the road. This is a tough stretch for the Spartans as they have four straight against ranked opponents. It has been interesting that the team has had six different leading scorers in their past nine games, not many teams can have that balanced scoring. 

This is a really close matchup between two good teams. Purdue is one that has a lot of good things going for them, and you would think they would be motivated to win a game after the disappointing performance against Wisconsin. Michigan State has a good defense, but you should also realize the way Purdue has been scoring, they need to control the pace in addition to playing good defense. I think this game is likely to go over the total of 148.5. Both teams combine to allow around 140 per game, but score around almost 160 combined. I'll back the over. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024