For head coach Fran McCaffery and the Iowa Hawkeyes, the 2017-18 college basketball season has been an unmitigated disaster. The Hawkeyes are a humiliating 3-9 straight up in Big Ten Conference play and a public betting NCAA basketball money drain. Iowa’s sieve like defense has been an embarrassment for McCaffery and the key culprit in the program’s demise. The Michigan State Spartans are struggling to maintain betting value even as they win games. The cloud of the sexual assault scandal that rocked the MSU campus is arguably a big reason for the loss of profits.
Michigan State Spartans vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 6, 2018, 9 p.m. Eastern
Location: Carver Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa
NCAA Betting Online Odds at SBG:
Michigan State -11 (-110) 154½ (-110) -750
Iowa +11 (-110) 154½ (-110) +525
Spartans vs. Hawkeyes TV Coverage: ESPN2
Michigan State
The Michigan State Spartans have a public betting NCAA basketball record of 22-3 straight up and 13-11-1 against the spread. The slumping Spartans have covered the spread in just two out of their last nine games despite winning seven of those games straight up. MSU has failed to bring home the money in their last four games. The over has hit in three out of the last five Michigan State matchups. Sparty is coming off a 63-60 win at Indiana but failed to cover as eight point chalks. Head coach Tom Izzo came off as baffled and befuddled when grilled by a full court press on sexual abuse allegations regarding his program. It was a bad look and the Spartans sloppy recent play is reflective of the distractions. Miles Bridges leads the Green and White with 17.4 points per game. Izzo’s team does play a full court game with national rankings of 26th for offense and 18th for defense.
Iowa
The Iowa Hawkeyes are 12-13 straight up and 8-11-2 against the spread. The Hawkeyes have paid out in just three out of their last ten games. McCaffery’s squad was annihilated in their last game at Penn State 82-58 as 8.5 point dogs. Over the total has paid out in eight out of Iowa’s last ten games. A horrible defense that ranks 300th in the nation for points allowed is reflective of Iowa’s state as a program. A long term contract extension with a massive buyout that McCaffery signed last spring is all that is saving him.
Team vs Team
Michigan State has had the upper hand in this head to head online sportsbook series. In the last ten meetings between the Spartans and Hawkeyes, coach Tom Izzo’s team has come away with the cash seven times. The under has hit in five out of the last eight games between MSU and Iowa. At Carver Hawkeye Arena the Spartans have covered the spread in five out of their last seven visits. Eight out of the last 11 games at Iowa City between the Spartans and Hawkeyes have gone under the total.
Matchup to Watch
This has been a bitterly disappointing season for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Tom Izzo and Michigan State have been the superior public betting NCAA basketball value and more appealing team. The balance of Michigan State gives them a superior edge in this game.
Spartans vs. Hawkeyes NCAA Games Betting Odds Picks
Michigan State should light up the Iowa defense and the Spartans have a strong record at Carver Hawkeye Arena.
NCAA Betting Online Pick: Michigan State Spartans
NCAA Betting Online Score Prediction: Spartans 81, Hawkeyes 69
Michigan State Tom Izzo faced questions about the recent MSU sexual abuse scandal.