Michigan State vs. LSU Betting Odds: Opening Spread for NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

#2 Michigan State vs. #3 LSU NCAA Tournament Betting Odds

• Spread: Michigan State -5.5
• Over/Under: 149
• Date: Friday, March 29
• Time: 7:09 p.m. ET
• Location: Washington D.C.
• TV: CBS

Michigan State and LSU are both looking for a spot in the Elite 8 and oddsmakers give the Spartans a better chance to get there.

Tom Izzo's team opened as a 5.5-point favorite over LSU in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

Get breakdowns of each team's profile, plus Sean Koerner's projected spread and over/under, below.

Michigan State's Statistical Profile

Michigan State is extremely balanced on both ends of the court, ranking fourth in KenPom's Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and ninth in Defensive Efficiency.

The Spartans rode that balance to a 16-4 conference record and two regular season wins over rival Michigan, the second-best team in the Big Ten according to KenPom's Adjusted Efficiency Margin metric.

The teams met for a third time in Sunday's Big Ten Conference title game, and, once again, the Spartans prevailed, topping the Wolverines, 65-60. — PJ Walsh

• Record: 28-6
• Adj. Efficiency Rank: 4
• Adj. Offensive Efficiency Rank: 4
• Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rank: 9
• Tempo Rank: 183

All advanced metrics via KenPom as of Friday, March 15

LSU's Statistical Profile

LSU won the SEC regular season championship with a 16-2 conference record, but faces some off-the-court controversy regarding head coach Will Wade's reported involvement in negotiating payments for player commitments. Wade has since been suspended from coaching the Tigers with assistant Tony Benford taking the reigns as interim head coach.

LSU stumbed in the SEC Tournament, falling to Florida as a 3.5-point favorite on Friday, leading to even more questions regarding what we can expect come NCAA tourney time.

Should the Tigers find a way to right the ship, they could provide the ultimate contrarian option for both college basketball bettors and those who play in bracket pools. — PJ Walsh

• Record: 26-6
• Adj. Efficiency Rank: 17
• Adj. Offensive Efficiency Rank: 11
• Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rank: 60
• Tempo Rank: 72

All advanced metrics via KenPom as of Friday, March 15

Sean Koerner's Michigan State-LSU Projections

Get point spreads for this game and every possible tournament matchup with our bracket simulator built by Sean Koerner, our Director of Predictive Analytics, a former oddsmaker and FantasyPros' most accurate in-season fantasy football ranker from 2015-2017.

• Spread: Michigan State -6.5
• Total: 147.5
• Proj Score: Michigan State 77 | LSU 70.5
• Win Probability: Michigan State 73.3% | LSU 26.7%