The No. 9 Michigan State Spartans visit the Illinois Fighting Illini in a Big Ten clash on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. The Spartans are looking to end a two-game losing streak, but are still 10-point road favorites, while the Over-Under for total points scored is 146.5 in the latest Michigan State vs. Illinois odds. The Spartans will be without guard Joshua Langford for the rest of the season, so bettors and books will have to adjust over time to how his loss impacts their lineup. Before you make your Michigan State vs. Illinois picks, be sure to check out the live college basketball predictions from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every game 10,000 times and has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the model has returned more than $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 14 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 90-58 run on top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now, the model has simulated Michigan State vs. Illinois 10,000 times. We can tell you it's backing the Over, and it also has an extremely strong pick against the spread, saying one side cashes nearly 80 percent of the time. It's one of the most confident picks you'll see from the model, and it's only available at SportsLine.
For Michigan State, the model knows that the Spartans are searching for ways to mask Langford's absence with two straight losses dropping them into a tie for first place. However, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward will still be an unpleasant matchup for just about everybody in the Big Ten. There are few better inside-outside combos in the game, with Winston running the point and averaging 18.8 points and 7.3 assists, while Ward is a true post who averages 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
In addition to being one of the nation's premier distributors, Winston shoots it 45.4 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Ward shoots 60.8 percent from the floor and does a lot of his work in the paint.
But just because the Spartans have plenty of talent doesn't mean they'll cover the Michigan State vs. Illinois spread.
The Illini have been competing hard on their home floor. In fact, the State Farm Center has yielded three outright upsets in the past four games, including wins over Nebraska, Minnesota and a ranked Maryland squad.
Freshman guard Ayo Dosunmu, a former five-star recruit, is the real X-factor here for Illinois. He likely would have drawn a Langford assignment, so Michigan State will have to get creative in defending the talented wing, who has averaged 18.7 points per game in those three aforementioned wins at home in conference play.
Who wins Michigan State vs. Illinois? And which side of the spread cashes in nearly 80 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Illinois vs. Michigan State spread to back, all from the model that has returned more than $5,000 to $100 players the last two years.
