#2 Michigan State vs. #10 Minnesota NCAA Tournament Betting Odds Spread: Michigan State -10 Over/Under: 142 Date: Saturday, March 23 Time: 7:45 p.m. ET TV: CBS Location: Hartford, CT >> All odds as of 6 a.m. ET. Download The Action Network App to get real-time odds and live win probabilities on your bets. Michigan State (29-6) is coming off a huge opening round scare to No. 15-seeded Bradley, escaping with a 76-65 win. The Spartans did not cover that game but are still 23-11 against the spread including 9-6 on the road. Minnesota (22-13) was a surprise winner over Louisville, 86-76. The Golden Gophers won the game outright despite being a five-point underdog. They moved to 18-15 this season ATS. Are the Spartans Wearing Down? Michigan State has been battling injuries all season long. Guard Cassius Winston (18.9 ppg, 7.5 apg) has been fantastic but is still battling knee tendinitis and a toe injury. Forward Nick Ward (13.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg) has returned, but is not anywhere near his pre-injury efficiency. He has played less than 10 minutes per game on average over the last three games. Against Bradley, the Spartans continued to have problems taking care of the basketball. The Braves forced 18 turnovers, and held the Spartans to just 26.3% from beyond the arc. Bradley was able to disrupt the Spartans offense and force them out of their comfort zone. On the season, Michigan State shoots 38.1% from deep. Can Minnesota Stay Hot? The Golden Gophers had a prolific offensive performance against the Cardinals. They shot 40.7% (11-of-27) from beyond the arc, which is much higher than their team average of 32.5%. Minnesota also took care of the basketball, only producing five turnovers against the Cardinals pressure defense. They also enjoyed a balanced scoring attack, with five players in double-digit scoring. Junior Amir Coffey (16.3 ppg) has raised his offensive game and senior Jordan Murphy (14.9 ppg, 11.3 rpg) has been a force inside while avoiding foul trouble. Prediction While Michigan State defeated Minnesota 79-55 back on Feb. 9, these are two teams that are very different from that initial meeting. Michigan State is winning close games and is still battling injuries. Minnesota defeated Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament and just upset Louisville. The point spread is simply too high for these familiar foes. Take the 10 points and expect the Golden Gophers to keep this game close until the end. THE PICK: Minnesota +10, would bet down to Minnesota +9 Sean Koerner’s Michigan State-Minnesota Projections Get point spreads for this game and every possible tournament matchup with our bracket simulator built by Sean Koerner, our Director of Predictive Analytics, a former oddsmaker and FantasyPros’ most accurate in-season fantasy football ranker from 2015-2017. Spread: Michigan State -11 Michigan State -11 Total: 139.5 139.5 Proj Score: Michigan State 75.5 | Minnesota 64.5 Michigan State 75.5 | Minnesota 64.5 Win Probability: Michigan State 86.3% | Minnesota 13.7% Editor’s note: The opinions on this game is from the individual writer and are based on his research, analysis and perspective. They are independent of, and may not always match with, the algorithm-driven Best Bets from Sports Insights.<doc-sep>Beating Minnesota for a second time this season won’t be easy, but Michigan State basketball will be motivated with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. Bradley put up a fight and nearly became the second No. 15 seed to upset Michigan State in the past three years but the Spartans came up in the clutch and made the necessary adjustments to finish with an 11-point win. Tom Izzo got into his players for not playing loose and turning the ball over in the worst situations and taking bad shots, but the Spartans overcame a rough performance to survive and advance. Heading to the second round with a matchup against Minnesota isn’t a comfortable feeling because no wins are given, especially with an elusive Sweet 16 on the line. Can Michigan State advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2014-15? 5. Michigan State out-rebounds Minnesota by 10 If there’s one team that has the length to make Michigan State sweat out a victory, it’s Minnesota. The Golden Gophers have size from the guard spots to the center and that can cause some havoc when it comes to the rebounding battle. Amir Coffey is a guard with length and can rebound, Jordan Murphy is one of the biggest beasts on the glass in the country and Daniel Oturu averages 7.1 per game in the post. Those three guys can cause some problems for the Spartans, but Michigan State’s bigs, and even guys like Aaron Henry and Matt McQuaid, will win the rebounding battle. Not only will Michigan State win the battle on the glass, but they’ll do so emphatically, winning by at least 10 rebounds. Usually the team that wins the battle on the boards has a good chance of winning the game. We’ll see if that’s the case on Saturday night.<doc-sep>The Minnesota-Michigan State matchup in the second round of the 2019 NCAA tournament in Des Moines on Saturday was unavoidable due to the bracketing principles adopted nearly six years ago. The NCAA tournament men’s basketball selection committee changed the rules in 2013 to permit teams from the same conference to meet as early as the round of 32 if they played only once during the season, including conference tournaments. Teams may not play until the Sweet 16 if they played twice and can’t play until the Elite 8 if they faced one another three times. The committee’s priority is keeping teams on their seed line. Before the new principles were adopted prior to the 2014 tournament, as many as 10 teams would be forced to slide up or down a seed line in a given year. Since then, the committee has only been forced to do it on one bracket: in 2018 when a combination of two No. 1 seeds and four Nos. 8 and 9 seeds from the Big East resulted in two teams (Butler and Providence) dropping to the 10 line, with Florida St. and NC State moving up from the 10 line to 9. Since the new principles were put in place, the only other time two teams from the same league met prior to the Elite Eight was in 2018 when Duke beat Syracuse in the Sweet 16. And that only happened when the First Four No. 11-seed Syracuse advanced by taking out a No. 3 seed Michigan State in Detroit in the second round. But this bracket made it impossible to avoid two teams meeting in the second round. Here’s why: Minnesota was a No. 10 seed and couldn’t go West where No. 2 seed Michigan was since they played three times this season. Iowa was a No. 10 seed. The Hawkeyes couldn’t go West because they already played Michigan twice and couldn’t go East since they played Michigan State twice. Florida was a No. 10 seed that couldn’t go Midwest because it played No. 2 seed Kentucky twice, couldn’t go East because it played No. 3 seed LSU three times and couldn’t go South because it played No. 2 seed Tennessee three times. Seton Hall was a No. 10 that couldn’t go East because it played No. 7 seed Louisville earlier this season and the committee avoids first-round rematches from the regular season. The Pirates couldn’t go South because it had played No. 6 seed Villanova three times. They could have met in a Sweet 16. So, Florida could only go West. Seton Hall could only go Midwest. That left East and South remaining and since Iowa couldn’t go East because of Michigan State, Minnesota had to go East. And that’s also why Minnesota was matched up against Louisville in the first round.<doc-sep>
​ Cover Photo: Getty Images Minnesota vs Michigan State Game Info East Region No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-13) vs. No. 2 Michigan State Spartans (29-6) Date: Saturday, March 23, 2019 Time: 7:45 p.m. EST Venue: Wells Fargo Arena — Des Moines, IA The first game of the NCAA tournament is over and the Golden Gophers are moving on! Just 33.6% of brackets had Minnesota upsetting Louisville in the first round  pic.twitter.com/5EPf5a8Wjr — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 21, 2019 Minnesota vs Michigan State Betting Info All betting odds, lines and props available on FanDuel Sportsbook. Moneyline: MINN: (+420) | MSU: (-580) Spread: MINN: +10.5 (-110) | MSU: -10.5 (-110) Total: 142.5 – Over: (-110) | Under: (-110) Public (Spread) Betting Percentages: MINN: 51% | MSU: 49% Minnesota vs Michigan State Betting Trends & Stats - Minnesota is 18-17 against the spread (ATS) this season. - Michigan State is 24-11 ATS this season. - Minnesota hit the over in 16 of its 35 games this season. - Michigan State hit the over in 15 of its 35 games this season. - Michigan State beat Minnesota, 79-55, in the first meeting this season. - Minnesota upset No. 7 Louisville, 86-76, to advance to the second round of the tournament. - Michigan State spoiled No.15 Bradley's upset bid, 76-65, to advance to the second round of the tournament. JonRothstein: RT CBSSportsNet: “The guy who can be a wild card for Michigan State going forward is Aaron Henry.” JonRothstein talks about MSU_Basketball’s gameplan going forward. pic.twitter.com/8bKuf2Lk7W — Dan F (@heelthedan) March 21, 2019 Minnesota vs Michigan State Prop Bet All Minnesota-Michigan State betting odds, lines and props available on FanDuel Sportsbook. - Home Team (Michigan State) First Half Point Total: Under 36.5 (-120) – Michigan State may have run Minnesota out of the gym during the regular season, but that was in large part due to a big second-half run. The Golden Gophers allowed 35 first-half points in their first meeting with the Spartans and are averaging just 31.8 first-half points allowed on the year. Build your free bracket today, unlike other brackets, our $250,000 payout is guaranteed! It’s tournament time, and this year, you can get a piece of the action for FREE. Fill out your free bracket today, then come back to bet all throughout the tournament. https://www.fanduel.com/march-madness Mike Esposito is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Esposito also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username espo6891. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.