College Hoops Sports Betting Ohio State vs Michigan State

BetUS NCAA Basketball Betting Odds: MICHIGAN STATE -10

Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* OSU has won 15 of its last 17 games SU

* OSU has covered one of its last five games

* OSU has played four of its last six games UNDER the total

* OSU has lost four of its last six road games SU

* MSU has won its last seven games SU

* MSU has covered four of its last five games

* MSU has won five of its last six home games SU

* OSU has won and covered four of the last six meetings SU

* Three of the last four meetings have gone UNDER the total

* OSU has covered four of the last six meetings as the road team

* OSU has had the shooting edge in five of the last six meetings

* MSU has had the rebounding edge in four of the last five meetings

Big Ten road the last three seasons, those victories might be a good omen for them.

Delvon Roe, the most highly-touted freshman the Spartans have (and one that got away from the Buckeyes) is slowed a bit with an ankle problem, but the good news for Michigan State is that center Goran Suton appears back to full strength, having rebounded from knee problems. The senior had 11 points and 12 rebounds in the win at Minnesota, which just bounced back with a win against OSU.

One of the reasons Thad Matta was hired at Butler. So as you can imagine, his defensive leaders are very important. Apparently the loss of junior swingman David Lightly, who's now been out for five games with a broken foot, has made quite an impact. Lightly was averaging just 9.7 points a game, but he was a 47% shooter, chipped in with 5.7 rebounds, was the best defender on the squad and an acknowledged team leader.

The Buckeyes had "moments of truth" against both West Virginia and Minnesota without Lightly in the lineup, and came up short on both occasions. OSU shot just 31% against West Virginia, and 11% from beyond the arc.

B.J. Mullens is one of those people who could pick up the slack, but the 7'1" freshman center has not come along as quickly as most people had hoped, averaging less than seven points a game with more than six turnovers for every assist. Matta has talked about not wanting to insert him in the starting lineup, but Mullens may not be ready for it yet.

This is quite an impost, but you have to wonder, without Lightly and with Mullens not playing full-time, whether Ohio State can really do battle on the boards. We'll see about that, but we're willing to work against them until they figure out answers. We'll lay the points with Michigan State, the 10-point favorite in the college basketball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: MICHIGAN STATE -10 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

(Charles Jay doesn't play any defense, but he makes his share of shots from downtown as a contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)