Big Ten foes will lock horns when the Ohio State Buckeyes (18-10) challenge the No. 6 Michigan State Spartans (22-5) at Value City Arena. The game starts at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 23 and can be seen on ESP and ES3.
The Buckeyes won a close one over Nebraska 65-62 on Saturday. JaQuan Lyle was the game’s high scorer with 19 points on 6-for-14 shooting. The Spartans are coming off a 69-57 win against Wisconsin on Thursday. Denzel Valentine claimed his eighth double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 assists.
Valentine has upped his play over the last five games for the Spartans, averaging 24.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 4.2 three-pointers.
From an eFG% perspective, this will be a battle of strength versus strength when the Spartans have the ball. Their elite offense ranks 17th in the nation in that metric at 55.6%, while Ohio State is 20th-best in the nation in eFG% defense (44.8%).
The Buckeyes enter the game with records of 18-10 Straight Up (SU) and 15-13 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games. Over their past 10 games, the Ohio State offense has been playing lights out, averaging 77.9 points per game, well over their season average of 70.9. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, opponents have consistently had their shots rejected by the Buckeyes, ranking 15th in the country in blocks per game with 5.5.
On the other side, the Spartans head into the game with records of 17-9 ATS and 22-5 SU. Offensively, the Spartans have really sputtered in the last 10 games. Their season average has fallen to 79.4 points per game after averaging only 68.3 during that stretch. The Spartans are an excellent long-range shooting team with 238 three-point shots made (8.0 per game), ranking 44th in Division I. Defenses have a tough time accounting for every player when up against the Spartans, who average a Division I-leading 20.7 assists per game. Switching gears to the Michigan State defense, the Spartans allow just 63.6 points per game, ranking them 13th in the nation. Teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Spartans, who are the second-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .372. The Spartans have established a reputation of cleaning up the defensive glass with a Division I-best 29.9 defensive rebounds per game.
This is the first meeting of the season for these conference foes. The last time they played, Michigan State came out on top, moving its SU record against Ohio State to 6-4 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. Furthermore, Michigan State holds the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. Michigan State held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once in the last five game, while Ohio State wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – MSU, ATS Winner – MSU
Notes
Ohio State averages 70.9 points per game, placing the team just 184th in the nation. Michigan State ranks 13th in points allowed, giving up 63.6 points per game.
Ohio State scores just 73.3 points per home game (ranked 185th). Michigan State ranks 57th in points allowed on the road, giving up 70.1 points.
The Michigan State Spartans have a defensive rating of 94.5 (ranked 16th), while the Ohio State Buckeyes have an offensive rating of 103.8 (ranked 215th).
The Ohio State Buckeyes average 68.3 possessions per game and 1.038 points per possession, while the Michigan State Spartans earn fewer possessions (67.3) but more points per possession (1.181).
Ranked 17th in the nation, Michigan State has an average effective field goal percentage of 55.6%. Ohio State has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-3).
The Ohio State Buckeyes average 19.0 three point attempts per game, and the Michigan State Spartans attempt 20.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; Ohio State is 9-4 and Michigan State is 16-2.
The Michigan State Spartans rank second with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.71, while the Ohio State Buckeyes rank outside the top 100 at 276th with an A/TO of .91.
Ohio State ranks 177th in offensive rebounds, while Michigan State ranks first in the nation in defensive rebounding.
On average, Ohio State makes 5.5 steals per game. Michigan State has a fantastic 14-3 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
