Michigan State Spartans at Illinois Fighting Illini Same Game Parlay Picks

Michigan State Spartans at Illinois Fighting Illini Same Game Parlay Picks Recap

Michigan State stormed back in the second half to defeat Illinois 79-65, earning head coach Tom Izzo his record-setting 354th Big Ten victory, surpassing Bobby Knight. After going into the break trailing by four and allowing Illinois to dent the board for 41 first half points, the Spartans dominated after halftime, outscoring the Illini 42-24, including a decisive 15-0 run as Illinois missed its final 18 shots over the game’s final 8.5 minutes.  

Jaxson Kohler led the charge with a double-double, posting 23 points and 10 rebounds. Tre Holloman added 14 points, while Jase Richardson and Coen Carr chipped in 11 and 10, respectively. Michigan State, struggling from three-point range in recent losses, adjusted its offensive approach, taking only 12 threes and instead attacking inside, where they scored 40 paint points to offset the 30 surrendered to the Illini near the rack. Illinois started strong, leading by as many as 16 in the first half, but collapsed late. Morez Johnson Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis each scored 17 points, but the Illini couldn’t withstand Michigan State’s physicality down the stretch. Despite Illinois ranking as the nation’s top rebounding team, the Spartans held a 41-36 edge on the glass. 

I sat back in disgust through the first 11+ minutes watching Illinois hit seemingly every shot to get out to a 31-17 lead. The live betting CBB betting odds got out to as high as -18! I thought for sure both the side and total were cooked and I was closing the night with an ugly bagel. Thankfully, MSU righted the ship enough to close the first half down four points, then shot themselves out of a cannon less than two minutes into the second half to claim their first lead of the match. It was all Sparty from there! I still can’t believe Illinois only managed 24 second half points. For that I say thank you to the basketball gods in granting us with this two-leg same game parlay cash at PROLINE+.

Michigan State Spartans at Illinois Fighting Illini Same Game Parlay Picks

Saturday night’s college basketball same game parlay picks take us to the State Farm Center in Champagne, IL where the Illinois Fighting Illini will attempt to even the season rivalry up against the Michigan State Spartans. Tom Izzo’s troops enter this tilt in a slump having dropped three of four to fall to third place in the Big Ten standings after getting nipped at home by Indiana last time out. It’s been quite the opposite for Brad underwood’s kids who scored a third win through four tries on Tuesday night by toppling a tough UCLA Bruins squad to move to 9-6 straight up (SU) but bankroll killing 6-9 against the spread (ATS) in B1G play.

These rivals have split their last 10 overall meetings with the Spartans holding a slim 5-4-1 ATS advantage. The teams split their pair of regular season tussles last year, but Michigan State has won and covered each of the last two dustups after winning and covering the closing 1.5-point CBB betting odds when the teams squared off in the Breslin Center back on January 19. The combined score just fell short of the 159.5-point closing total. I expect Illinois to be laying upwards of 6-points at PROLINE+ for the rematch with the total lined in the low to mid-150s.

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Michigan State Spartans

Playing to one of the Big Ten’s easier schedule strengths looks to have caught up to the Spartans. Amongst the Top 5 teams in the conference, Michigan State’s 50^th ranked strength of schedule ranks well behind Purdue (#5), Michigan (#24), Wisconsin (#20), and UCLA (#31). Heck, even Indiana (#15) and USC (#38), who’ve accounted for two of their last three defeats, have also run up against a stiffer cast of opposition. This in turn is one of the main reasons why Sparty is in a funk with three-plus weeks remaining in the regular season.

While it was understandable to see the team struggle Tuesday night back home against Indiana after fighting back from a hefty double-digit halftime deficit to not only win but cover against Oregon, the outright loss was not expected. Jaden Akins and co. best bring their “A” game to Champagne or else Izzo will remain stuck on 353 all-time B1G wins.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Kasparas Jakucionis poured in 24 points and Tomislav Ivisic added 16 to help lead Illinois to the impressive 83-78 victory on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for CBB bettors that laid the 7-points, the final margin of victory failed to get there. Regardless, Illinois moved to 11-3 SU in front of the hometown faithful (7-6-1 ATS) and to within two games of front running Michigan with only six games remaining on the regular season docket.

Armed with five double-digit scorers and a deep bench that provides production when called upon, the Fighting Illini possess the traits of a team that could make some noise when it matters most. That premise will certainly be put to the test tonight as it looks to even the score against a Spartans team it’s toppled at home four of the last five times they came to town (3-1-1 ATS).

Same Game Parlay Picks

The first go round between these teams was an exciting back-and-forth affair that saw 73 total possessions and only 18 combined turnovers committed. Illinois assisted 16 of their 28 made shots, while Michigan State racked up an assist on half of their 28 made shots. However, each team shot miserably considering each attempted at least 65 shots from the field. Even so, the combined score only fell a bucket short of going over the total. Much of that had to do with the teams going to the charity stripe a combined 54 times.

Scoring has been a struggle for the Spartans lately. Aside from their outlier 86-point performance against Oregon—where they followed up 36 first-half points with 50 in the second—MSU has averaged just 64 points over its other three recent games. Both teams are well-equipped to counter each other’s strengths in the paint, and with neither squad excelling from beyond the arc, I expect over bettors to be chasing points. If the total gets steamed into a higher range, I’d strongly favor the under. Pair that with Sparty plus the points and look for Izzo to potentially make history!

Michigan State vs. Illinois Same Game Parlay Picks: Michigan State + Under (+261)