The 2019 Big Ten Tournament will feature an all Michigan finale as the Michigan State Spartans will face the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans will look to win another Big Ten title on a day that is meant for all things green - St. Patrick’s Day.
How they got there
The Spartans punched their ticket on Saturday afternoon after they defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 67-55. Once again it was Cassius Winston who paved the way for the surging Spartans.
CBS Sports indicates that Winston, along with Kenny Goins helped get Michigan State rolling early, putting Wisconsin in a deep hole early on.
Winston led all scorers with 21, while Goins poured in 13 points along with a game-high 12 rebounds for the Spartans.
The final score was only a 12-point differential, however, the game wasn’t that close as MSU dominated the Badgers early and often.
As for the Wolverines, they had an even easier game against the Golden Gophers. Minnesota had a great run up to this point in the Big Ten Tournament, and a win today against Michigan would have been incredible. Unfortunately for the Gophers, they just ran out of steam.
One more HAIL to go. #GoBlue x #B1GTourney pic.twitter.com/J31pBABdnA
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) March 17, 2019
Michigan jumped out to a 38-19 halftime lead and cruised to a 76-49 win.
Isaiah Livers led the Wolverines with 21 points while Zavier Simpson added 15. Freshman sensation Ignas Brazdeikis scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in his 28 minutes of play.
Odds, stats, and prediction
When the Spartans and Wolverines meet on Sunday, March 17 it will be for all the marbles. Michigan State has had their way with Michigan this season.
The Spartans won both regular-season matchups. Can MSU make it three in a row? Sure they can, but it won't be easy.
Michigan State is listed as a slight favorite at -1, with the over/under point total set at 132.5.
While the Spartans have had the better of the Wolverines so far this season, Michigan won the three previous meetings.
And if you are talking about recent Big Ten domination at the Vegas sportsbooks, the Wolverines are the team to wager on this Sunday.
Michigan is 13-3 in their last 16 games against the spread in games played on Sunday. To go a bit deeper, the Wolverines are 36-14-1 vs. the Vegas number in their last 51 contests against Big Ten opponents.
Yes, the Spartans can definitely win this game Sunday afternoon, but I have to believe that coach John Beilein has a trick or two up his sleeve this time around.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2019 Big Ten championship game:
- Who: Michigan vs. Michigan State
- What: Big Ten championship
- Where: United Center - Chicago, Illinois
- When: Top-off 3:30 p.m. ET
- Odds: MSU -1
Prediction: The loser of this game will still be a top-five seed in the NCAA bracket. It is hard to picture the Wolverines falling for the third time in one season to the Spartans. Tough game, but Michigan prevails 74-69.
Pick - Michigan +1