Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals
#7 Michigan State Spartans vs. #2 Purdue Boilermakers, Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Friday, March 11, 2011, 6:30 pm Eastern, TV: Big Ten Network
Opening Line: Purdue -7.5
Current Line: Purdue -7
Opening Total: 131
Current Total: 130.5
Money Line: Purdue -300 / Michigan State +250
The seventh-seeded Michigan State Spartans (18-14) may still be on the bubble as they go for their 14th straight NCAA tournament appearance. But the Spartans can certainly improve their chances greatly with a win over the second-seeded Purdue Boilermakers (25-6) on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Conference tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Michigan State took the first step toward securing an invitation to the Big Dance with a 66-61 victory against 10th-seeded Iowa on Thursday. The Spartans had lost two of their last three games of the regular season and had to rally back against the Hawkeyes, who battled back from a 33-31 halftime deficit to lead 52-45 with 11:40 remaining. Michigan State responded with a 17-6 run to pull off the win behind Draymond Green’s 21 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.
The Spartans have made it to the Final Four each of the last two seasons, and their senior class is 11-3 over the past three years in the NCAA tournament. However, they will face a very difficult challenge here against a Purdue team that swept them in two meetings during the regular season. A third consecutive loss could burst their bubble and send them to the NIT.
The Boilermakers (-7) won the previous two games with Michigan State by a combined 30 points, easily covering the spread both times. Big Ten Player of the Year JaJuan Johnson was as consistent as you can be for Purdue, scoring 20 points in each game. E’Twaun Moore also played large against the Spartans with a game-high 26 points in the first meeting and 17 in the second.
While the Boilermakers are already a lock to get invited to the Big Dance, they would still like to earn a #1 seed but would need to win the conference tournament to accomplish that goal. They missed an opportunity to clinch the top seed in the Big Ten tournament when they suffered a 67-65 loss at Iowa in the regular-season finale, ending their seven-game winning streak.
Purdue was 6-1 against the spread during the winning streak and has gone 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings with Michigan State. The Spartans are just 4-12-1 ATS in their last 17 games against conference opponents and have seen the total go UNDER in five of their past seven overall. The UNDER is also 11-3 in the last 14 meetings between the teams.
Our Big Ten college basketball handicappers are red hot heading into the NCAA tournament. Don’t miss out on any more basketball betting winners this season.
