Honestly, I would just be extremely happy to avoid a region with Duke or Auburn. If I'm allowed to be greedy I'd also include Iowa State.
Pregame: Illinois at Michigan State, Sunday, January 19th, 11:00am CT, CBS
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Illinois opened -3.5 and is now favored -1.5 here in Vegas.
I like the way you think. I sure hope you're right, but not optimistic.
If the Illini come to play and can stop the driving to the basket, get back on defense to not allow MSU to get out and run and they can hit some 3's I think they can pull the upset. Illini 84--MSU 81 in a heavy weight fight down to the wire.
MSU is a Tennessee lite in a lot of ways. So, I'll say if we win the rebounding battle OR we shoot our season average from three, we'll win. Do both and we win by double digits.
Maybe, but MSU doesn't have the individual scoring talent that Tennessee does (Lanier, Zieger, etc). Instead their scoring is more by committee.
And MSU will be running every opportunity they get, much more than Tennessee.
Yeah, they aren't carbon copies of each other. And TN is clearly more talented, hence the "lite". But they both are defense-minded teams. They both are good rebounding teams. Neither is a good shooting team.
But, to your point, MSU gets about 4 more possessions per game than Tennessee. Which, I think helps us.
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
yeah, think I'll be watching, lol
Dan
Admin
CBS (Spero Dedes & Clark Kellogg)
fightingillini.com
#19 Illini Visit Big Ten leader & 12th-ranked Michigan State Sunday - University of Illinois Athletics
Tipoff set for 11 a.m. CT from Breslin Center on CBS.
fightingillini.com
I hope you're right about that. I think we would welcome them to try to beat us in a track meet, and it would probably get Tre White back in the zone.
We need to be able to hold our own in the paint. MSU, per usual, has a team of bullies and if a game is close late, they operate well.
Not sure how we're going to fare against a roster of bigs like this. We're just not deep on the interior and we're not overly physical. Plus, we haven't shown a great ability to close out tight games. We're never safe with an 8 point lead with 5 minutes to play. Inevitably, it's a one possession game, we have a ridiculous turnover, we can't get the ball in bounds or we rely on the three because we really don't run an offensive set that gets us a great shot or at very least, get us to the line.
We shall see!
Not sure how we're going to fare against a roster of bigs like this. We're just not deep on the interior and we're not overly physical. Plus, we haven't shown a great ability to close out tight games. We're never safe with an 8 point lead with 5 minutes to play. Inevitably, it's a one possession game, we have a ridiculous turnover, we can't get the ball in bounds or we rely on the three because we really don't run an offensive set that gets us a great shot or at very least, get us to the line.
We shall see!
Should be a good game. Crowd should keep MSU in it if we play well, and the team will keep us in the game if we don't.
Love having Morez in a game like this. I feel like you need a couple tough rebounders in a game like this. He may foul out, but his minutes will be important. I really don't know what to expect. I know we have a ton of talent and should challenge them, but haven't watched them enough to have a feel for it. Sleepers seems to think our size advantage could be a big deal. MSU has a high floor and been really consistent, but they like Illinois if they show up.
Love having Morez in a game like this. I feel like you need a couple tough rebounders in a game like this. He may foul out, but his minutes will be important. I really don't know what to expect. I know we have a ton of talent and should challenge them, but haven't watched them enough to have a feel for it. Sleepers seems to think our size advantage could be a big deal. MSU has a high floor and been really consistent, but they like Illinois if they show up.
Expect Pizza Hut Parking Lot. We've seen this movie before. Ayo saw it with one eye. Izzo was a linebacker and reverts to old form when he knows he can't play straight up. Glad our coach is used to it. Who will be our Kofi or TSJ today? Like you, would love for that to be Morez, but definitely going to need someone to play rough.
Dang, vegas knows
At the guard/SF we have KJ. Kylan and Tre. We need to win the battle here. Just like at Indiana, feel we have a significant advantage.
What is it they know? Lol you're scaring me a little
Are we going to be missing another key player for this game that caused the line to move in MSU's direction?Vegas knows what? That we are the better team and they need to entice Mich St fans to bet?
What is it they know? Lol you're scaring me a little
Why would you say that when Illinois is the favorite against a top 20 team on a streak in their house?
Because the line opened at 3.5 and moved to 1.5, which either means the more accurate models like MSU or there is information made available to line setters (such as player availability for one team or the other)
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Ryllini
- Lombard
That alot of people are going to lose some money to them tomorrow.What is it they know? Lol you're scaring me a little
I believe you meant Illinois opened +3.5 and is now -1.5 correct? I think that is more of the matchups analysis being factored in, it’s still surprising MSU is a home dog given the streak they are on
No, what I said is accurate.
Michigan State vs Illinois Odds, Betting Trends, and Line Movements - 04/15/2026
View the best Michigan State vs Illinois odds, betting trends, and line movements for 04/15/2026. We've got their head to head and last 10 game results.
www.vegasinsider.com
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