Two Plays For Thursday College Hoops

I gave out two picks yesterday and split them. The first one was an easy winner as the teams flew over the total. I always like those no sweat victories. The problem was the second game was one I think I talked myself into betting and it was a mistake. I lost the game between Stanford and UCLA. Tonight, I'll go back to the well for some college basketball action as we have pretty big schedule to choose from.

Penn State vs. Michigan State, 7:00 ET

When it comes to these two programs, there is no question the expectations are more lofty for the Spartans. Penn State has produced some good teams, but Michigan State is the team you expect to win games consistently. That really hasn't been the case this season as they have struggled to an 8-5 record this year. The Spartans are on a four game winning streak though and starting to potentially turn the corner. The winning streak isn't against great competition, but they did beat the #6 Baylor team in very convincing fashion. Their losses on the year came at the hands of James Madison in a surprising opening night loss, Duke, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. Now they are in their Big 10 schedule and need to start stringing together wins over these opponents. Led by a guard, Tyson Walker, I think Michigan State is starting to turn the corner. Penn State is currently sitting at 7-6 and most of their losses came in a stretch where they lost five in a row. Only a couple of the teams they lost to this season has the name recognition of the losses that Michigan State suffered. All of this is to say that they have struggled with a worse strength of schedule from their opponent. Now they have to travel to Michigan in order to try and pull out a victory. The Nittany Lions are led by Kanye Clary, a guard who should be able to neutralized Walker. Michigan State is playing better and are the better team, but they really shouldn't be favored by 13 over most teams right now. I'll take the points with Penn State.

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 18: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts in the second half against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 18, 2016 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Utah vs. Arizona State, 11:00 ET

One of the easiest ways to win in basketball is to exploit mismatches. Maybe one team doesn't have a quick defender and your guard is explosive. Maybe your forward is a beast in the post and the opponent just doesn't have the strength to guard them. In tonight's game, the biggest mismatch is in favor of Utah center Branden Carlson. You can't teach someone how to be tall, but luckily for him, Carlson is seven feet tall and has some muscle behind him. Arizona State has a seven-footer themselves, but he isn't a starter. Maybe they use him to try and stop Carlson tonight, but I kind of doubt it. The Sun Devils goal is to attack people form the midrange and in transition. They are not good outside shooters so I really don't expect them to hurt Utah that way. It isn't just Carlson that Utah will beat you with. They have two good guards that are both adept at getting to the rim and Gabe Madsen is shooting 47.1% from beyond the arc. In this game I think the Utah guards will probably outscore the ASU ones. I'm not sure how they will stop both the interior and exterior attack, even being at home. I'll take Utah to win this one and cover -6 on the road.

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