College Basketball

Michigan State Basketball: Game preview, prediction at Ohio State

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:39 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Connor Muldowney/FanSided via Spartan Avenue

Take a look at the preview, prediction and betting odds for Sunday afternoon’s Michigan State basketball game against Ohio State.

Michigan State took out the frustration of losing to Penn State last Saturday, clobbering No. 24 Minnesota on Wednesday in East Lansing. The Spartans got hot early on and didn’t let up, winning by 18 points and looking like the team everyone hoped to see at the start of the year.

Miles Bridges looked like his old self in the first half, scoring 16 points to Minnesota’s 17 through the first 20 minutes. The Spartan offense cooled off in the second half, but it was easily their best defensive showing of the year.

Traveling to Ohio State on Sunday afternoon isn’t exactly an easy task, but the Buckeyes are currently 0-4 in Big Ten play and 10-7 overall. Will the Spartans pull out a tough road win?

Here’s how you can watch Sunday’s Michigan State basketball game:

Date: Sunday, Jan. 15
Start Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Columbus, OH
Venue: Value City Arena
TV: CBS
Live Stream: CBS Sports Live

Keys to Victory

Getting Bridges into the act early on will be a major key for the Spartans’ offense, as will feeding the post to Nick Ward. The two freshmen forwards will be relied upon heavily throughout the rest of the year and they’re going to have to be a nice inside-out presence for Michigan State on Sunday.

Defensively, all I can say is that if this team plays anything like it did against the Golden Gophers on Wednesday, there’s no way a loss is possible. Michigan State can play stifling defense and defending the perimeter will be important.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Ohio State -2

Prediction

Ohio State has lost four straight games and yet still finds itself favored in this one. The Spartans love the underdog role, even when they truly shouldn’t be labeled as such — this game is a perfect example of that. Bridges will come out on fire yet again and his confidence will be contagious. Elon Harris will have a nice game, but we might see Josh Langford take another big step. Michigan State keeps it close all game and pulls away (slightly) late.

Final: Michigan State 77, Ohio State 69

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