3 Best Prop Bets for Michigan State vs Kansas State NCAA Tournament Game (Nowell Shines)

Thursday's NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 schedule includes a showdown between the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans and No. 3 Kansas State Wildcats. FanDuel Sportsbook's latest odds list Michigan State as the 1.5-point favorite with the projected total set at 138.5 points.

Here are three of the best prop bets for the Spartans-Wildcats game, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

Michigan State vs Kansas State Prop Bets

1. Markquis Nowell — Points: Over 16.5 (-122)

After averaging 12.4 PPG in his first season at Kansas State, Markquis Nowell's production has jumped up to a 17.1 PPG clip during the 2022-23 campaign. He heads into tonight's contest with a projected point total of 16.5 — one he shouldn't have any issues surpassing. After all, Nowell has finished with 17+ points in 14 of his last 22 contests, including in each of his first two NCAA Tournament games. Considering how he's coming off a 27-point effort against Kentucky, it's a no-brainer to ride the hot hand and back the over.

2. A.J. Hoggard — Assists: Under 5.5 (+100)

Leading Michigan State with 5.9 assists per game, A.J. Hoggard has been important to his team's success with his playmaking. Unfortunately, his numbers have dipped over the last few games. Hoggard has finished with fewer than 5.5 assists in each of his last three games, averaging just 3.7 over that stretch. Now, he must face a tough Kansas State defense that can keep the pressure up all night long, proven by its 14.9 takeaways per game (No. 31). With the Spartans averaging only 67.7 possessions per game (No. 295), I just don't see Hoggard having enough opportunities or space to hit the over on this prop.

3. First-Half Spread — Kansas State +0.5 (-110)

Kansas State consistently puts forth a strong first-half effort, regardless of the opponent. The Wildcats average 35.2 first-half points (No. 84), which sees a slight increase to 35.6 whenever they're away from home. Meanwhile, Michigan State tallies a 32.8-point average at halftime (No. 184) — a number that's dropped to 30.3 over the last three games. Furthermore, the Spartans find themselves with a minus-1.3 first-half scoring margin in those games, whereas the Wildcats sit at plus-1.3 during that span. In what should be a tightly contested first frame, look for Kansas State to be on top at halftime.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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