Michigan State and USC Meet in 1st Round NCAA Tournament Betting

Certainly, no college basketball program was more inconsistent than the Michigan State Spartans.  At times, Sparty looked like a serious March Madness betting contender with a win over the Indiana Hoosiers.  On the other hand, MSU suffered disturbing losses to lightweights like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes.  The loss to Ohio State set off alarm bells.  Cause by it occurred in the Big Ten Tournament.  Casual Sector players and sharps are hesitant to lay cash on Michigan State as the NCAA Tournament begins.  

USC vs. Michigan State CashBet Wagering Analysis

On this occasion, gamblers will choose between two decent teams mired in sportsbook inconsistency.  Michigan State will draw slightly more support based on head coach Tom Izzo.  To illuminate, Izzo is one of the biggest coaching brands in the sport.

USC Seeks Rebound From Disappointing End  

Overall, the USC Trojans are 22-9 straight up, 17-14 against the spread, and 16-15 over/under the total.  USC has national rankings of 152^nd for scoring offense, 111^th for field goal percentage, 180^th for 3-point field goal percentage, 80^th for free throw percentage, and 159^th for offensive rebounding.  Also, on defense, USC has national rankings of 90^th for scoring defense, 7^th for field goal percentage permitted, 117^th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 250^th for defensive rebounding.  

USC failed to get the cash in its last three games.  The Trojans went over the 2023 March Madness Betting total in five of their last seven outings.  Boogie Ellis leads USC with 18.0 points per game.  USC finished third in the Pac-12 Conference standings, four games behind champion UCLA.

Michigan State Mired in Mediocrity

The Michigan State Spartans are 19-11 straight up, 15-15 against the spread, and 16-14 over/under the total.  To summarize, Michigan State has national rankings of 199^th for scoring offense, 153^rd for field goal percentage, 3^rd for 3-point field goal percentage, 29^th for free throw percentage, and 153^rd for offensive rebounding.  While on defense, Michigan State has national rankings of 99^th for scoring defense, 70^th for field goal percentage permitted, 33^rd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 139^th for defensive rebounding.

Late on, Michigan State failed to cover four of its last six games.  Michigan State went over the bet on NCAA basketball total in five of its previous six games.  Tyson Walker leads the Spartans with 14.6 points per game.

Ohio State became the lowest seed, at No. 13, to ever reach the Big Ten semifinals.  Despite missing their leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh, Ohio State took out Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament.

Bruce Thornton had 21 points and six assists.  In like manner, freshman Roddy Gayle Jr. scored seven of his season-high 15 points in the final five minutes.  Hence, short-handed Ohio State beat fourth-seeded Michigan State 68-58.  Gayle hadn’t scored double figures since netting 12 points on Dec. 3 against St. Francis.  But he scored 12 points in the second half to compensate for Sensabaugh’s absence.

Gayle extended Ohio State’s lead to 51-39 on a 3-pointer with 8:05 remaining.  And then Justice Sueing added another 3-pointer on their next possession.  Gayle made two free throws with 4:27 left.  And then, after Michigan State air-balled a 3-pointer, Gayle rattled in a 3-pointer to make it 61-50.  Finally, Gayle added a tough layup for an 11-point lead to cap his run of seven straight points.

On the other hand, Michigan State missed 13 of 15 shots midway through the first half.  Ohio State scored eight points around Holloman’s basket to extend its lead to 28-19 and led 33-24 at halftime as Michigan State was held to 31% shooting.  Including 1 of 9 from 3-point range.

USC vs. Michigan State CashBet Free Pick  

In this situation, USC makes the most sense as the 2023 March Madness Betting underdog.

USC vs. Michigan State CashBet Best Bet

USC Trojans