Louisville vs. Michigan State Prediction and Odds: Spartans Look to Bounce Back after Brutal loss to Baylor.

No. 22 Michigan State lost their second game of the season on Friday. The Spartans were outplayed and outpaced on both sides of the court by No. 6 Baylor Bears in the Atlantis title game.  Their previous loss was in the season opener to No. 3 Kansas. The argument can be made that these losses are ok because they came against such good teams. In my eyes, this just means that MSU is not an elite team this year. 

On the other side of the coin, Louisville beat Maryland last week 63-55 to win the Bahamas Championship. The Cardinals were led in scoring by Malik Williams with 13 points and 12 rebounds. This will be the Cardinals' first real test, having to face a ranked team in their first true “away game” after playing at home and neutral sites thus far. 

Here are the odds for this matchup, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Louisville vs. Michigan State Odds, Spread, and Total

Spread:

• Louisville +4.0 (-110)
• Michigan State -4.0 (-110)

Moneyline:

• Louisville +150
• Michigan State -180

Total: 134.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Louisville vs. Michigan State Prediction and Pick

The Cardinals have played games away from The KFC Yum! Center this season but none in “enemy territory.” The Spartan crowd will be buzzing after a brutal loss last week. Ergo, the Cardinals will have an arena full of people actively rooting against them for the first time this year. 

Despite their win over Maryland to win the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, the Cardinals had a terrible day from the field. As a team, Louisville went 21-for-60 (35.0%) from the field and a dismal 6-for-27 from downtown. Luckily for them, they were able to beat the Terps on the boards. The Cardinals won the rebound battle 51-25 including 17 offensive rebounds. 

Michigan State will have a slight reprieve after such a tough game against Baylor, but the Cardinals are no pushovers. One spot in which MSU should excel is on defense where they allow a 37.6 shooting percentage to opponents. I worry about their offensive funk continuing but the Cardinals aren’t the strongest on the defensive side. 

MSU has lost twice already but both of those games have come against teams ranked in the Top-10. The Spartans can win this game by leaning on their stellar defense and making smart decisions on offense. The Cardinals’ offensive woes from last week could continue and leave them in a bad way against a better overall squad. 

Pick: Michigan State -4.0 (-110)