Arkansas vs Michigan State Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s College Basketball Game

Today, we’re finally getting a premier college basketball matchup when the Arkansas Razorbacks face the Michigan State Spartans.

As usual, the Spartans come in with high expectations. Sparty’s opener against Colgate was a pretty mediocre double-digit win. Arkansas, on the other hand, thrashed Southern while scoring 109 points and is a serious Final Four contender.

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I break it all down in my Arkansas vs. Michigan State predictions and college basketball picks for Saturday, November 8.

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Arkansas vs Michigan State prediction

Arkansas vs Michigan State best bet: Arkansas moneyline (+120)

As someone who regularly argues for patience and/or completely fading a John Calipari–coached team this early in the season, backing the Arkansas Razorbacks in a spot like this takes a lot.

But that’s exactly what I’m doing. I think the Razorbacks are the more skilled side by a hefty margin, and they have a decent tactical matchup headed into tonight.

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You may say Calipari teams have regularly outclassed opponents from a talent perspective, and it hasn’t stopped them from regularly underachieving. You’d be right, and much of this handicap is about the Michigan State Spartans‘ issues, not Arkansas.

Consider the Colgate box score. Sparty had a +22 advantage on the boards and a +31 advantage overall, and won by 11 as a 21-point favorite.

That’s jarring, and it speaks to larger problems.

Pulling season-long viewpoints from a one-game sample is a fool’s errand, but when they back up your priors, it has a little more validity.

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I see a Michigan State team that needs to overwhelm opponents with athleticism and size because of poor shooting and overall offensive execution. I don’t think it can do that to Arkansas, and I project the Hogs by 4.

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Arkansas vs Michigan State same-game parlay

In one of the most loaded freshman classes in recent memory, Darius Acuff is one of my favorites.

He looked the part in the opener with 22 points, sinking three triples in 29 minutes. Michigan State saw an inordinate number of threes while facing Colgate and allowed over a point per possession on perimeter cutting actions. That should be enough for Acuff to clear this total when you pair that with his driving and foul-drawing abilities.

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In addition to that, we’ll take DJ Wagner to go over his assists total, as he’ll be the lead guard to profit off of Acuff’s success in these sets.

Arkansas vs Michigan State SGP

• Darius Acuff Over 16.5 points

• DJ Wagner Over 3.5 assists

Our beyond the arc SGP: TEASER

Even though I suspect Arkansas to hold its own on the boards in this matchup, I’ll take a shot on Jaxon Kohler getting double-digit boards for the second straight game. He’s going to be one of the better rebounders in all of college basketball this season, and there should be a high volume of shots in a fairly high-paced matchup.

I’ll finish things off with Jeremy Fears to go over his points total. Arkansas looked poor defensively off the dribble in its opener (may have been the only negative), and Fears can expose some of those issues.

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Arkansas vs Michigan State SGP

• Darius Acuff Over 16.5 points

• DJ Wagner Over 3.5 assists

• Jaxon Kohler Over 9.5 rebounds

• Jeremy Fears Over 10.5 points

Arkansas vs Michigan State odds

• Spread: Arkansas +2.5 (-110) | Michigan State -2.5 (-110)

• Moneyline: Arkansas +120 | Michigan State -140

• Over/Under: Over 156.5 (-110) | Under 156.5 (-110)

Arkansas vs Michigan State betting trend to know

Arkansas has hit the Moneyline in 23 of their last 36 games (+17.80 Units / 2% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Arkansas vs. Michigan State.

How to watch Arkansas vs Michigan State

Arkansas vs Michigan State key injuries

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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