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No. 8 Michigan State will put its 11-game winning streak on the line Saturday, when it faces a supremely talented Rutgers team in a Big Ten battle at Madison Square Garden. The Spartans’ surge dates back to a Nov. 26 loss to Memphis and has helped coach Tom Izzo’s club rise from unranked in the preseason to the top 10.
But if the nation’s second-longest winning streak is going to survive another day, Michigan State (16-2, 7-0 Big Ten) will have to contain a Rutgers team led by two projected NBA Draft lottery picks. Five-star freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper have been as good as advertised, although that hasn’t necessarily translated to team success for the Scarlet Knights (10-9, 3-5).
If Rutgers is going to rally and make a push for NCAA Tournament consideration, it needs to start now. Even the Big Ten Tournament is no guarantee for the Scarlet Knights as only the top 15 teams from the 18-team league will be invited to Indianapolis for the event. Rutgers showed signs of improvement last week with victories over UCLA and Nebraska. However, an 80-72 loss at Penn State on Monday robbed the Scarlet Knights of some momentum.
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Michigan State’s perfect start to league play has been fueled by depth and heft. The Spartans are one of the nation’s worst 3-point shooting teams but are an excellent rebounding squad that makes 19.1 free throws per game.
How to watch Michigan State vs. Rutgers live
Date: Saturday, January 25 | Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Madison Square Garden — New York
TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (Free)
Streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime (Try It Free)
Michigan State vs. Rutgers prediction, picks
All odds via SportsLine consensus
Michigan State is coming off a pair of narrow home wins and now must hit the road to play a talented Rutgers team at Madison Square Garden. The Spartans play a 2-point oriented style that runs counter to the game’s modern norms. That should allow the Scarlet Knights to remain in striking distance and within this spread. Rutgers isn’t polished, but it rarely gets blown out. Pick: Rutgers +6
Who will win and cover in every college basketball game? Visit SportsLine to get picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times and is up more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated spread picks the past six years.
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