[7:02 PM] #10 Arizona v. #12 Michigan State

Who will WIN this matchup?

#10 Arizona Wildcats (0-0)

#12 Michigan State Spartans (0-0)

 

Current odds:

Arizona Wildcats: (+113)

Michigan State Spartans: (-127)

 

• ESPN simulations have Michigan State as 58.5% favorites to win the game.

• XX% of sports bets are currently on Arizona to win as (+113) favorites.

• Tom Izzo doesn’t have Denzel Valentine anymore, but he has a talented group of freshmen, led by 6-7 swingman Miles Bridges, who is expected to play a leading role from the get-go for the Spartans. Eron Harris (9.3) is the leading returning scorer for Michigan State, though, last year’s Player of the Year campaign for Valentine notwithstanding, the Spartans are best when playing as a team on both ends of the floor.

• Arizona has one of the top scorers in the Pac-12 in sophomore Allonzo Trier, an all-freshman selection after putting up 14.8 points a year ago. But, like the Spartans, the Wildcats are excited about the arrival of a freshman, this one 7-footer Lauri Markkanen from Finland, who is already being thought of as a top pro prospect and averaged 14.5 points in two exhibition games.

• While the Spartans are excited to see Bridges on the floor as a freshman, he’ll have to take on a bigger role, especially early on, thanks to injuries on the front line. Senior forward Gavin Schilling is expected to be out until the Big Ten campaign after a knee injury, while UNLV transfer Ben Carter could miss even more time with his own knee injury.

• Michigan State is the only school in the nation to win 27 or more games in each of the last five seasons.

• Arizona’s rebounding margin of +9.2 in 2015-16 ranked as the third-best mark in school history.

 

StreakSmarts Pick: #10 Arizona Wildcats

Confidence: 4/10

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