Marquette vs Michigan State Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 19 NCAA Tournament Game (MSU Shocks the World)

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Marquette vs Michigan State Game Info

2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
No. 2 Marquette (29-6) vs. No. 7 Michigan State (20-12)
Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023
Time: 5:15 PM ET
Venue: Nationwide Arena -- Columbus, Ohio
Coverage: CBS

The 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 continues on Sunday with a huge East Region matchup between the No. 2 Marquette Golden Eagles and No. 7 Michigan State Spartans.

Kam Jones' game-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting helped push Marquette past No. 15 Vermont in a decisive 78-61 victory. While things were close in the middle of the game, Michigan State buckled down to pick up a 72-62 win over No. 10 USC in the first round.

Which team's March Madness dreams will continue after the dust settles?

Marquette vs Michigan State Odds & Spread

All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: MARQ: (-150) | MICHST: (+125)
Spread: MARQ: -2.5 (-115) | MICHST: +2.5 (-105)
Total: 140.5 -- Over: (-115) | Under: (-105)

Marquette enters this contest as a slim favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 5:15 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 140.5 points with the over being favored at -115 odds.

Marquette vs Michigan State Betting Trends

Marquette is 22-13-0 against the spread this season.
Against the spread as 3.5-point favorites or more, the Golden Eagles are 11-10.
Marquette has played 35 games this season, and 17 of them have gone over the total.
Against the spread, Michigan State is 16-16-0 this year.
As 3.5-point underdogs or more, the Spartans are 5-6 against the spread.
There have been 16 Michigan State games (out of 32) that went over the total this year.

Marquette Rank	Marquette AVG		Michigan State AVG	Michigan State Rank
19th	79.9	Points Scored	70.3	204th
185th	70.3	Points Allowed	67.2	88th
333rd	28.4	Rebounds	32.1	157th
281st	7.3	Off. Rebounds	7.1	291st
40th	8.9	3pt Made	7.4	181st
4th	17.5	Assists	14.7	64th
40th	10.4	Turnovers	10.2	34th

Marquette vs Michigan State Prediction & Pick

Upsets are one of the highlights of March Madness and I see one occurring here. Marquette is a great team, but Michigan State has the tools to prevail. For starters, the Golden Eagles are just 2-5 straight up in their last seven outings against the Big Ten, whereas the Spartans have won eight straight against the Big East.

While Marquette does damage on the perimeter, averaging 8.9 threes (No. 37) on 35.1% shooting (No. 110), MSU only allows its opponents to shoot 31.6% from the three-point line (No. 55). The Spartans also thrive at closing out opposing possessions, tallying 25 defensive rebounds per game (No. 37). The Golden Eagles rank 61st-worst in total rebounds, highlighting their inability to collect boards.

Marquette also lacks discipline at times, averaging 16.8 personal fouls away from home. Considering how Michigan State has a 75.4% success rate from the charity stripe (No. 52), the Spartans can make the Golden Eagles pay for any foul trouble.

While I still expect a close game, Michigan State is in a good spot to pull off the upset.

Final Score Prediction: Michigan State: 76 | Marquette: 75

Marquette vs Michigan State Best Bet

Marquette's 10-game winning streak is impressive, but Michigan State has the defense to put that to an end. Besides, on top of the Golden Eagles not playing against Big Ten foes, they haven't even made it to the Sweet 16 in a decade. Meanwhile, Tom Izzo has coached the Spartans past Round 2 14 times since 1998 with the most recent occurrence happening in 2019.

Keeping the move in mind, I'm backing Michigan State outright on the moneyline.

Bet: Michigan State ML (+125)

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.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.