Top-ranked Kansas opens the season with a showdown against No. 10 Michigan State at the 2018 Champions Classic. Tipoff from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The Jayhawks landed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, including point guard Devon Dotson and combo guard Quentin Grimes, plus Dedric and K.J. Lawson are now eligible after the brothers transferred from Memphis. Sportsbooks list the Jayhawks as six-point favorites in the latest Michigan State vs. Kansas odds. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 156. Before you make any Kansas vs. Michigan State picks, check out what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has returned more than $5,200 to $100 bettors on its top-rated picks the past two years. Anyone who has followed it is up big-time.
Now the model has dialed in on Michigan State vs. Kansas. We can tell you it’s leaning under, but it has also generated a strong point-spread pick that’s cashing in a whopping 70 percent of simulations. It’s only available over at SportsLine.
The model has taken into account that Kansas lost leading scorer and assist man Devonte’ Graham from the team that went 31-8 and made the Final Four last season. But with a pair of five-star recruits, the Lawson brothers and holdovers like 7-foot junior Udoka Azubuike (13 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks last season), expectations are sky-high in Lawrence once again.
Kansas destroyed the Spartans by 20 in their previous meeting, in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, and the Jayhawks are facing a Michigan State team that has failed to cover its past five neutral-site games.
But just because Kansas is loaded doesn’t mean the Jayhawks will cover the spread against Tom Izzo’s Spartans.
Michigan State returns three starters from a 30-5 team that reached the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32. Among them: floor leader Cassius Winston, who led the Big Ten in assists (6.9) and 3-point shooting percentage (49.7). Forward Nick Ward (12.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and guard Joshua Langford (11.7 ppg) give Izzo a trio of experienced juniors to build around, helping compensate for the loss of lottery picks Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges.
With deep threat Matt McQuaid (52 3s last year) and 6-6 freshman Aaron Henry both expected to make big splashes as well, there’s talk in East Lansing about Izzo notching his eighth Final Four appearance next spring.
The Spartans have covered six of eight all-time meetings, including a 79-73 win over Kansas in the 2015 Champions Classic.
Who wins Michigan State vs. Kansas? And which side of the spread can you bank on a whopping 70 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to get the strong against-the-spread pick, all from the advanced model that is up more than $5,200 on its college basketball picks the past two years.
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