Posted on 2/12/2008 6:44:40 PM

Bet on NCAA Basketball - Michigan State vs. Purdue

By Mike Rose

The Spartans and Boilers hook up for the first time tonight with 1st place in the Big 10 standings on the line. MSU invades West Lafayette sporting an impressive 20-3 SU mark, but they’ve only managed an 8-2 mark in Big 10 play and currently sit 1.5 games behind the Conference leading Boilers. While going a perfect 15-0 at home in East Lansing, Sparty has only mustered up a 5-3 SU mark on the road/neutral court most recently dropping an 85-76 decision to an undermanned Penn State team back on February 2nd. As for the Boilers, Head Coach Matt Painter’s kids have surprisingly done very well this season with a very young cast of characters. The starting line-up is littered with freshman and sophomores, so their early season success has to be considered one of the biggest surprises within the Big 10 Conference.

Michigan State bounced back from its loss in Happy Valley by knocking off the Northwestern Wildcats by a 70-55 final count over the weekend. The 15-point victory fell 3.5-points short of the 18.5-point spread, and the 125 combined points fell 7-points short of the 132 point ‘Total’. The ATS loss was the Spartans second in row, and they’ve only managed to make their backers happy in 3 of their L/10 overall lined games. MSU might be one of the better teams in the Big10 (8-2 SU), but they’re 30% success rate ATS in conference play leaves a lot to be desired.

Purdue won its 9th in a row its last time out in a venue many have fallen in, especially in B10 play, when they knocked off the Wisconsin Badgers by a 72-67 final count as lofty 10-point road underdogs. The win ended the Badgers' 16-game home conference winning streak and cut into their aura of invincibility at home under Head Coach Bo Ryan. It was also the Boilers first time defeating a Top 10 ranked team on the road since 1998, and the first time they had knocked off Wisconsin in their own house since 1996. PU comes into tonight’s match-up sporting a solid 13-2 SU, but they’ve only managed to cover 5 of those 12 lined games.

These two teams hooked up back on January 8th when the Spartans managed to hold on for the 78-75 victory. However, Purdue took home the cash by easily covering the 13-point spread, and the 153 combined points soared Over the closing ‘total’ of 133.5.

Purdue opened as 1.5-point home favorites with the ‘Total’ set at 130. Overnight bettors expect the Boilers to exact a little home revenge tonight and for tit to be a higher scoring contest as PU is now a 2-point home chalk and the ‘Total’ has been bet up to 132. Both the current side and total can be found at BetUS.com right now!!! The favorite has been the side to take in this series as its cashed in 8 of these teams L/11 meetings. The Boilers are 4-1 ATS their L/5 home games and 9-1 ATS their L/10 overall, while the Spartans sport an anemic 3-9 ATS mark against the Big 10.

This match-up surely won’t disappoint, so tune your HDTV’s to ESPN at 7:00 ET to see if Painter’s crew can continue its excelled overall play, or if Izzo’s bunch has the intestinal fortitude to hand the Boilermakers their first loss at home in Big 10 play.

Go to the BetUS.com online sportsbook today to bet on NCAA basketball. We have the most current NCAA basketball odds and lines, as well as player and game props. Join BetUS.com to experience the best in online sports betting action!