Kentucky vs. Michigan State Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, November 15
By Josh Yourish
The Champions Classic is always filled with intrigue, but everyone’s eyes will be on John Calipari and No. 4 Kentucky.
The Wildcats have a lot of questions to answer after their first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Reigning National Player of the Year, Oscar Tshiebwe is back on campus, but it is unclear if he will take the floor tonight. Tshiebwe is still recovering from a preseason knee procedure.
John Calipari says Oscar Tshiebwe will practice today and will have a better idea on if he will play Tuesday vs. Michigan State
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) November 14, 2022
"My guess is he plays 3-4 minutes per stretch, if he plays. ... Knowing him, he wants to play."
We have already seen a lot from Tom Izzo’s Michigan State squad that pushed Gonzaga to the limit in the Armed Forces Classic last week. We will find out if the Spartans can go toe-to-toe with another Top 5 team.
Kentucky vs. Michigan State Odds, Spread and Total
Kentucky vs. Michigan State Prediction and Pick
Tshiebwe's return would be huge for Kentucky who is also getting Damion Collins back for the first time this season.
We just saw what another high-profile forward who stayed in school did against the Spartans on Friday, and we may see a similar performance on Tuesday, if the reigning NPOY takes the floor again.
Drew Timme had 22 points and 13 rebounds on an aircraft carrier and helped Gonzaga fight back to win that game 64-63. He did that on 9-14 shooting and it could have been a lot more if he wasn’t 4-10 from the free-throw line. Nobody shot well in that game, Michigan State went 3/16 from three and Gonzaga was 4/18. Poor shooting in a game played outside likely allowed Michigan State to hang around.
Kentucky’s last game wasn’t quite the same test, a 77-52 win over Duquesne. It was a fairly low-scoring affair and the Wildcats only managed 77 points while shooting 57.9% from behind the arc. I don’t expect that level of shooting to hold throughout the season, especially with the talent on hand for the Wildcats. don’t think Kentucky’s offense will be firing on all cylinders just yet, so the best play is the under.
Pick: Under 141.5 (-110)
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change