The Michigan State Spartans look to stay undefeated in conference play when they host the Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday night. The Spartans come into this game as the sixth-ranked team in college basketball, and Purdue has spent some time in the polls as well. This is a battle of two of the best guards in the conference in Cassius Winston and Carsen Edwards.
Michigan State has won their first four Big Ten games this season, and come in with an overall record of 13-2. The Spartans have won eight straight games, and look like a real threat to make a Final Four run this season. Purdue has won two of their first three games in conference play, with their lone loss coming against the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan State is a nine-point favorite over Purdue on Tuesday night.
Spartans Can Win In Variety of Ways
This Michigan State team is a typical Tom Izzo team. The Spartans love to push the ball on offense and also have incredible size and strength down low. Michigan State is averaging over 87 points per game so far this season while holding opponents to just 68 points per game. The Spartans are consistently one of the best rebounding teams in college basketball and are averaging 43.8 rebounds per game this season. The Spartans won’t be easy to beat at the Breslin Center.
Point guard Cassius Winston is proving that he is one of the best players in college basketball. Winston leads the Spartans with 17.7 points and 7.6 assists per game this season. Winston is the man that gets things going for the Spartans, but they have plenty of other weapons. Center Nick Ward is averaging 16.7 points per game, and Joshua Langford is one of the best shooters in the country, making 40 percent of his three-point attempts. The Spartans have plenty of experience, and their veteran players are leading the team.
Carsen Edwards Needs Some Help
Junior guard Carsen Edwards is one of the few holdovers from last season’s terrific Purdue team, and he is having a monster season. Edwards is pouring in 25.5 points per game this season and can score in a variety of ways. The problem for Purdue is that they haven’t had enough players step up in support of their star. Ryan Cline is the only other Boilermaker player averaging double-figures at 12.6 points per game. If Purdue is going to upset the Spartans, they will need some role players to step up
Purdue looked sharp in their blowout win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in their last time out. The Boilermakers held the 25th ranked Hawkeyes to just 70 points in the victory and will need this kind of defensive performance against Michigan State. Look for Purdue to try to slow this game down and limit the transition game of the Spartans. It might be the only chance that the Boilermakers have.
Spartans Rout Boilermakers
Purdue simply doesn’t have the weapons to keep up with the Spartans on the road. The Boilermakers still have the look of an NCAA Tournament team, but the Spartans are one of the top teams in the country. Look for Tom Izzo’s squad to be sharp in this game, and they will pull away from Purdue. Bet Michigan State -9.0 over Purdue on Tuesday night.
