{"id":329813,"date":"2025-02-21T15:13:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T20:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/?p=329813"},"modified":"2025-02-21T15:24:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T20:24:16","slug":"michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan State vs. Michigan college basketball picks Feb. 21: Take the No. 12 Wolverines to cover at home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The No. 12 Michigan Wolverines took care of one bitter rival last time out, and now they&#8217;ve got another one due up on Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The pregame narrative:<\/strong> Michigan hosts the No. 14 Michigan State Spartans in their first head-to-head matchup as top-15 teams since 2020. I&#8217;m backing the Wolverines to cover at Crisler Center and go over their projected point total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out my Michigan State vs. Michigan <a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.ca\/page?key=ej0xMzUyNDU3MiZsPTEzNTc4NzIyJnA9MjM3NzA%3D\">picks for the men&#8217;s college basketball<\/a> matchup on Feb. 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Michigan State vs. Michigan picks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"insights\"><strong>Go to full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.northstarbets.ca\/sportsbook\/sports-hub\/basketball\/ncaab\">college basketball betting markets<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.ca\/page?key=ej0xMzUyNDU3MiZsPTEzNTc4NzIyJnA9MjM3NzA%3D\">Best Bet<\/a>: Michigan -2.5 (-121)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"cacheembed:109933\">Embed: #109933<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his first season as the head coach at Michigan, Dusty May has done a remarkable job ingratiating himself with Wolverines fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only are the Wolverines on an NCAA tournament trajectory after missing out the past two seasons, but they&#8217;ve yet to lose under May at home (12-0).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, the Wolverines are 11-2 since Christmas. They should have the upper hand on the visiting Spartans tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michigan State&#8217;s offence relies on interior shooting and free throws. Neither of those scoring avenues will come easy against Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Wolverines are massive up front, with Danny Wolf (7 feet) and Vladislav Goldin (7-foot-1) in the starting lineup.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Michigan is the fifth-tallest team overall in NCAA Division I, per KenPom.com. The Wolverines&#8217; opponents are shooting just 46.8% from 2-point range (34th-lowest in D-I).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Wolverines allow just a 28.3% free throw rate, calculated as free throw attempts divided by field goal attempts. That&#8217;s the 65th-lowest rate in D-I. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>On the flip side, Michigan&#8217;s primary offensive weakness \u2014 turning over the ball \u2014 shouldn&#8217;t be too much of a worry against Michigan State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Wolverines have the 34th-highest offensive turnover rate in the country, but the Spartans have the 55th-lowest defensive steals rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michigan State is having a great season in its own right and won both of last year&#8217;s matchups. But Michigan is a much different team now, thanks to May and some of the players he brought in, and I expect the Wolverines&#8217; home record to remain pristine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key stat:<\/strong> Michigan has covered a -2.5 spread in 10 of 12 home games. The Wolverines won by exactly two points in the outliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Quick pick<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.ca\/page?key=ej0xMzUyNDU3MiZsPTEzNTc4NzIyJnA9MjM3NzA%3D\">Michigan over 76.5 points (-115)<\/a>:<\/strong> The Wolverines average 81.6 points and are well-positioned to fill the net on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As stated, the Spartans struggle to force turnovers on defence, which should lead to fewer empty possessions for the Wolverines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, both teams play fast. Michigan&#8217;s average possession length (15.6 seconds) is the 20th-fastest in D-I. Michigan State ranks 106th in that regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michigan tends to shoot a lot of 3-pointers, which likely won&#8217;t be a winning strategy against a Michigan State squad that holds opponents to a 29.2 3PT% (10th in D-I). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With that said, the Wolverines&#8217; top scorers are their towering big men, Wolf and Goldin. I&#8217;m hoping Michigan will lean on them and exploit size mismatches down low. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Picks made at 2:50 p.m. ET on 02\/21\/2025.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"thestar\">Looking to get started? <a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.ca\/page?key=ej0xMzUyNzQxMyZsPTEzNTI3NDExJnA9MjMyNDM%3D\">Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The No. 12 Michigan Wolverines took care of one bitter rival last time out, and now they&#8217;ve got another one due up on Friday night. The pregame narrative: Michigan hosts the No. 14 Michigan State Spartans in their first head-to-head matchup as top-15 teams since 2020. I&#8217;m backing the Wolverines to cover at Crisler Center [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":329836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sidebar_plugin_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-329813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-basketball","tag-college-basketball-betting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Michigan State vs. Michigan picks: NCAA basketball | NSB<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Check out our Michigan State vs. Michigan picks for their men&#039;s college basketball game. NCAA basketball predictions for Friday, Feb. 21.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michigan State vs. Michigan picks: NCAA basketball | NSB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Check out our Michigan State vs. Michigan picks for their men&#039;s college basketball game. NCAA basketball predictions for Friday, Feb. 21.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Boost\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-21T20:13:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-21T20:24:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nsb-news.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com\/imgs\/2025\/02\/CP173725588-scaled.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jordan Horrobin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@JordanHorrobin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jordan Horrobin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/\",\"name\":\"Michigan State vs. Michigan picks: NCAA basketball | NSB\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-21T20:13:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-21T20:24:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#\/schema\/person\/8e0d7302b14f65be7f61f221a134fc9f\"},\"description\":\"Check out our Michigan State vs. Michigan picks for their men's college basketball game. NCAA basketball predictions for Friday, Feb. 21.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/\",\"name\":\"The Boost\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#\/schema\/person\/8e0d7302b14f65be7f61f221a134fc9f\",\"name\":\"Jordan Horrobin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nsb-news.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com\/imgs\/2024\/11\/IMG_7764.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nsb-news.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com\/imgs\/2024\/11\/IMG_7764.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Jordan Horrobin\"},\"description\":\"Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles \u2014 especially for MLB markets or NFL\/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he\u2019ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.northstarbets.ca\/sportsbook\/news\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JordanHorrobin\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/author\/jordan-horrobinnorthstargaming-ca\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Michigan State vs. Michigan picks: NCAA basketball | NSB","description":"Check out our Michigan State vs. Michigan picks for their men's college basketball game. NCAA basketball predictions for Friday, Feb. 21.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Michigan State vs. Michigan picks: NCAA basketball | NSB","og_description":"Check out our Michigan State vs. Michigan picks for their men's college basketball game. NCAA basketball predictions for Friday, Feb. 21.","og_url":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/","og_site_name":"The Boost","article_published_time":"2025-02-21T20:13:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-21T20:24:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/nsb-news.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com\/imgs\/2025\/02\/CP173725588-scaled.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Jordan Horrobin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@JordanHorrobin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jordan Horrobin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/","url":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/","name":"Michigan State vs. Michigan picks: NCAA basketball | NSB","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-02-21T20:13:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-21T20:24:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#\/schema\/person\/8e0d7302b14f65be7f61f221a134fc9f"},"description":"Check out our Michigan State vs. Michigan picks for their men's college basketball game. NCAA basketball predictions for Friday, Feb. 21.","inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/michigan-state-vs-michigan-ncaa-basketball-picks-february-21-2025\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/","name":"The Boost","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#\/schema\/person\/8e0d7302b14f65be7f61f221a134fc9f","name":"Jordan Horrobin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/nsb-news.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com\/imgs\/2024\/11\/IMG_7764.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nsb-news.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com\/imgs\/2024\/11\/IMG_7764.jpg","caption":"Jordan Horrobin"},"description":"Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles \u2014 especially for MLB markets or NFL\/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he\u2019ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.northstarbets.ca\/sportsbook\/news","https:\/\/twitter.com\/JordanHorrobin"],"url":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/author\/jordan-horrobinnorthstargaming-ca\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329813"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":329842,"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329813\/revisions\/329842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}