Wednesday College Basketball Odds, Pick & Prediction: Nebraska vs. Michigan State Betting Preview

Nebraska vs. Michigan State Odds

Wednesday, Jan. 5

7 p.m. ET

Big Ten Network

Nebraska Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
+15.5 -105	150.5 -110o / -110u	N/A

Michigan State Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
-15.5 -115	150.5 -110o / -110u	N/A

Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute college basketball odds here.

It has not been a great start to the season for Nebraska, but on Sunday it had a chance to pull of a massive upset. The Huskers were up five points on No. 13 Ohio State with 36 seconds left in regulation. However, it was unable to close the deal and fell 87-79 in overtime. Nebraska fell to 6-8 and 0-3 in Big Ten play. Now, the Huskers will travel to East Lansing for another matchup with a ranked opponent.

Michigan State is coming off a 73-67 road victory at Northwestern in which it covered as a two-point favorite. The Spartans moved to 12-2 and 3-0 in Big Ten play. The Spartans remained No. 10 in this week's AP poll. Michigan State leads the all-time series 20-7 and has won the last eight meetings.

This matchup will feature a pair of teams averaging more than 75 points per game. Will that lead to a high-scoring affair?

Nebraska Struggles From Deep

Nebraska has struggled shooting the three all season. It is shooting 27.9% from beyond the arc, which is 343rd nationally, and 22.7% in Big Ten play. However, by its standards Nebraska had a banner night against Ohio State, going 8-of-23 from deep. That gave Nebraska a chance to spring the upset, but it also allowed Ohio State to make 16-of-34 3-point attempts.

Nebraska is 281st in 3-point defense, allowing its opponents to shoot 35.1% from beyond the arc, but that number has ballooned to 44.3 in Big Ten play.  The rest of Nebraska's defensive numbers aren't much better. It ranks 124th in adjusted defensive efficiency and 260th in defensive rating.

Nebraska is the third-worst rebounding team in Division-I, ranking 356th in offensive, defensive, and total rebounds allowed. It gets outrebounded by 7.8 rebounds per game.

Offensively, Nebraska does a good job of drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. It ranks 29th in fouls drawn and 38th in free throws per game, making 72% of them as a team.

Nebraska's leading scorers Bryce McGowens (5.8 attempts) and Alonzo Verge (4.7 attempts) are the best on the team at getting to the foul line. McGowens is averaging 15.8 points and 5.8 rebounds while Verge is averaging 15.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists.

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Michigan State Proving to be Well-Rounded

Michigan State comes in having won seven games in a row and has emerged as one of the most balanced teams in the country. The Spartans are 22nd in adjusted offensive efficiency and 21st in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Senior forward Gabe Brown leads in scoring at 14.1 points per game while shooting nearly 40% from deep. Forward Marcus Bingham is averaging 11.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game.

Five-star freshman guard Max Christie is averaging 9.5 points but is showing more consistency. He has scored in double-digits in four of the last six.

Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard have proven to be a capable duo running the point. Combined they average 13.1 points and 9.7 assists against 4.5 turnovers per game. Forward Malik Hall is averaging 9.7 points per game while still shooting a blistering 53.8% from three.

As a team, MSU has been one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country at 39% overall and 40% in its first three Big Ten games. Its opponents are shooting 38.8% from the field and just 28.8% from three.

MSU is currently second in the Big Ten in scoring defense among conference games, although the sample size is small. However, MSU has been beating up opponents on the glass all season.

Nebraska vs. Michigan State Betting Pick

After being blown out in consecutive against Auburn and Michigan, Nebraska has been more competitive in its last three games despite being 1-2. However, it still allowed 88 points against Ohio State and it has allowed more than 70 in nine of its 14 games this season.

Nebraska ranks 19th in adjusted tempo while MSU should be able to dominate the offensive glass. That means MSU will have plenty of possessions to put points. MSU shoots the three at a high clip and will be going against a porous Nebraska three point defense. That could lead to a big night from Brown as he made at least two triples in three each of the seven games.

In the same span, MSU has gone over 70 points in each of those games. MSU could push toward 90 points against Nebraska and with a total 149.5, the Huskers should have enough offense to clear the over.

Pick: Over 149.5 (Play to 152)