Best March Madness Bets: Lock In This Expert's Kansas State vs. Michigan State Sweet 16 Best Bets

Best March Madness Bets: Lock In This Expert's Kansas State vs. Michigan State Sweet 16 Best Bets

Michigan State finds themselves in the Sweet 16 after a second-half route of USC and a surprise upset victory over second-seeded Marquette. While this year‘s Michigan State team may not feature too many first or even second-round draft picks, what they do have is a very experienced and athletic group.

Kansas State vs. Michigan State Prediction

Michigan State typically scores by the committee, as their two best players are probably Joey Hauser and Tyson Walker. These two players carry most of the scoring load day in and day out for the Spartans, but they have many players who can get hot and provide key contributions. AJ Hoggard and Malik Hall are two of the most important players on Michigan State. These two players are hybrid defenders that can guard multiple positions and will likely be in charge of keeping Keyontae Johnson of Kansas state in check.

Malik Hall has been dealing with a foot issue most of the season but finally looks to be at full strength for Michigan State, so if he is guarding Johnson, this will be a key matchup to keep an eye on, as Johnson is one of the best players in the country and has been balling out this tournament. If Hall and Company can keep him in check and force Nowell into more ill-advised shots, this could give Michigan State a sizable advantage.

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On the other side, Kansas State is led by transfer Markquis Nowell who put on an absolute show against Kentucky in their Round of 32 victory. Nowell was throwing behind-the-back passes, over-the-shoulder lobs, and no-look dimes and dropped 27 points and nine assists in a very impressive performance down the stretch to lift the Wildcats to victory over blue blood Kentucky. It is hard to argue that any player in the country is playing better than Nowell at this stage, and we have all seen in March that if one player gets hot, he can lift his team to victory multiple rounds in a row and deep into a tournament.

Michigan State is playing extremely well in this tournament, led by the experience of Tom Izzo, who is one of the best coaches in the month of March. I believe Kansas State has a distinct athletic and size advantage in this game. Keyontae Johnson, Nae'qwan Tomlin, and David N'guessan are all extremely athletic and versatile in the positions they can guard and what they can do on the offensive end. Other than Hall for Michigan State, most of their big men are statues per se in the fact that they do not have the best lateral quickness or jumping abilities.

I believe Kansas State should be able to have a mismatch advantage against Mady Sissoko, Carson Cooper, and Jaxon Kohler by utilizing their quickness around these bigs. Joey Hauser is more of a perimeter player even though he has a lot of size and there is no one on the court who can guard Markquis Nowell right now to keep him out of the paint to prevent drop-offs or lobs at the rim.

With that being said, I am rolling with Kansas State 1H ML at -105 and Kansas State Full Game +1.5 for 1U each as one of my favorite plays of the Sweet 16.

Kansas State vs. Michigan State Picks

• 1u Kansas State 1H ML at (-105) Bet $100 to collect $195 PointsBet has the best odds; click here to bet
• 1u Kansas State Full Game +1.5 (-110) Bet $100 to collect $190 DraftKings has the best odds; click here to bet

Kansas State vs. Michigan State Start Time and Where to Watch

• Date: Thursday, March 23, 2023
• Game Time: 6:30 pm ET
• Where to Watch: TBS

Kansas State vs. Michigan State Odds

• Spread: Michigan State -1.5 (-110), Kansas State +1.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Michigan State (-122), Kansas State (+110)
• Total Odds: 137.5 (O (-105), U (-108)

Click here for Kansas State vs. Michigan State odds

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