Michigan St vs. Kentucky Odds & Betting Predictions - November 18, 2025

Let’s start with the elephant in the room for Big Blue Nation, and that’s Jaland Lowe. The Cats’ point guard was feared to be done for the season after reinjuring his shoulder in practice, but there is now hope that he could return later in the year. In the short term, that means three players have an opportunity to lead this offense. Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, and Jasper Johnson are Mark Pope’s options at the moment. Johnson, a blue-chip recruit, was more of a scoring guard in high school, but he played the point in numerous scrimmages leading up to the season. In his first game with Lowe sidelined, he dished out seven assists in just 19 minutes off the bench. Chandler started at the point and contributed four dimes, with Aberdeen playing off the ball for the majority of his 23 minutes against Eastern Illinois. The Wildcats have talent at the position, but they don’t have a clear top option at this moment, which I believe opens the door for Tom Izzo and the Spartans to give UK problems at Madison Square Garden. The Spartans' recipe of half-court basketball (268th in tempo) and hard-nosed defense (14th in KenPom), got them over the hump against Arkansas earlier this season, albeit at home. Izzo was very high on his frontcourt in the preseason, and I now know why. Sparty’s bigs, Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler, are averaging 26 points, 18 rebounds, and five “stocks” per game as a duo. They’re the reason why Michigan State is fourth in offensive rebounds per game. Offensively, this team looks the part of an Izzo-coached team, sharing the ball effortlessly. The Spartans have the highest assist-to-made-basket ratio in the country and have limited their turnovers along the way. That will be critical against a team in search of its point guard identity; the fewer transition opportunities MSU gives away, the better its chances are of stealing this game outright.

Think Izzo helps keep this one close. Lot of issues to iron out for Kentucky. Point guard situation very shaky w no Lowe. Just not sure how easy it’ll be for them to score on Sparty without him.

Fucktucky