Northern Iowa vs. Michigan State (-1) Point Spread Picks

Michigan State (26-8, 13-20 ATS) has escaped with narrow victories in its first two games of the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans kicked things off with a 70-67 win over New Mexico State before needing a buzzer-beating three to finish off Maryland 85-83. Michigan State covered the latter of those games but is just 5-5 in its last 10 games against college basketball odds. MSU is 5-1 in its past six games.

Despite the exciting win over Maryland, MSU suffered a crushing blow; the team's best player, Kalin Lucas, was lost to an Achilles injury. The junior point guard ranked first on Michigan State in points (14.8 PPG) and assists (4.0 APG) and his production will be difficult to replace. Korie Lucious stepped up with 13 points and the game-winning three, and more heroics will be needed on Thursday. Darrell Summers shot the lights out against Maryland, going 10-14 en route to a team-high 26 points. Forward Raymar Morgan added 17 points and nine boards.

Northern Iowa (30-4, 23-10 ATS) has ripped off six consecutive victories, including two thrilling wins during March Madness. The Panthers got things going with a 69-66 win over No. 8 UNVL before achieving a massive upset and toppling No. 1 Kansas 69-67. Northern Iowa has been just as impressive on NCAA basketball odds; the Panthers are 5-0 in their last five games against the spread and have covered seven of their last 10 games.

Ali Farokhmanesh is quickly carving himself a place in March Madness history. The senior guard has buried crucial three-point daggers in two straight fourth quarters now. And while his scoring average during the season was just 9.7 per outing-good for fourth on the team-he's racked up 16.5 per game so far during the Tournament. Three-point shooting is a huge key for Northern Iowa, as the Panthers have already buried 18 shots from downtown during March Madness.

BetED.com has set the total at 122.5, and sports betting fans might want to strongly consider taking the over. Northern Iowa has gone over the total in three consecutive games, while Michigan State has surpassed the total in two of its last three outings.

Game Prediction

Take Northern Iowa