The No. 1-ranked Michigan State Spartans (9-0) are off to a hot start and will try to remain undefeated when they take on the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (1-7) at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Action gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Dec. 9 and will air on BTN.
The Spartans easily got past Binghamton 76-33 on Saturday. With 13 points and 12 rebounds, Denzel Valentine recorded his third double-double of the season. The Hawks, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 80-74 loss at the hands of North Carolina A&T on Monday. Maryland Eastern Shore lost despite the best efforts of Dominique Elliott, who recorded his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
This one isn’t expected to be close when Michigan State, a heavy 32-point favorite, takes on Maryland Eastern Shore. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 142 points for this matchup. The Spartans come into this game 9-0 Straight Up (SU) and 6-2 Against The Spread (ATS). The Spartans are one of the best in Division I in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting a superb .496 from the field. Michigan State has an edge in the rebounding department for this game, where it racks up an average of 44.4 rebounds per game. Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Michigan State, which ranks second at 1.93. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Spartans, who allow a field goal percentage of only .369. Expect Michigan State to have lots of opportunities at the line against the Hawks, who are one of the most foul-prone teams in the nation with an average of 23.4 fouls per game.
As for their opponent, the Hawks were a good bet ATS so far with a record of 1-0 to go along with a 1-7 SU record.
Michigan State and Maryland Eastern Shore have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – MSU, ATS Winner – MSU, O/U – Over
Notes
Michigan State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Ranked 11th, the Michigan State Spartans have an offensive rating of 122.1. The Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks rank 317th with a defensive rating of just 111.6.
The Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks average 68.8 possessions per game and .903 points per possession. The Michigan State Spartans earn fewer possessions with 67.5, but they score more points with 1.221.
Michigan State is ranked 22nd in the nation with an average effective field goal percentage of 56.8%. Maryland Eastern Shore has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-1).
The Michigan State Spartans top the nation in assists, earning 23.0 per game this season. With their 10.4 assists per game, the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks rank just 331st.
The Michigan State Spartans average 5.8 blocks per game, the 23rd-ranked team in the country. The Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks rank a lowly 225th in blocking with just 3.0 per game.
Michigan State ranks 88th in offensive rebounding. Maryland Eastern Shore ranks 336th in defensive rebounding.
Maryland Eastern Shore makes 5.2 steals per game. In games where it allows 5 or more steals, Michigan State is undefeated at 6-0.
