Kansas vs Michigan State Picks and Predictions: Jayhawks' Talent Will Prove Too Much For The Spartans

The 2021-22 college basketball season tips off on Tuesday night with the always-entertaining Champions Classic, taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York.

In the first matchup between powerhouse programs, the Kansas Jayhawks take on the Michigan State Spartans. Tom Izzo and MSU enter the season unranked and college basketball betting lines opened with the Spartans as 4-point underdogs against the No. 3-ranked Jayhawks.

Here are our best free Kansas vs. Michigan State picks and predictions for the Champions Classic on Tuesday, November 9 with tipoff at 7 p.m. ET.

Kansas vs Michigan State odds

Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.

This line hit the board with the Jayhawks favored at -4 with the Over/Under at 143.5. Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.

Kansas vs Michigan State predictions

• Prediction: Kansas -4 (-110)
• Prediction: Under 143.5 (-110)
• Best bet: Kansas -4 (-110)

Picks made on 11/09/2021 at 8 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Kansas vs Michigan State game info

• Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
• Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2021
• Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN

Kansas at Michigan State betting preview

Injuries

Kansas: Jalen Coleman-Lands G (Questionable), Bobby Pettiford G (Questionable), Jalen Wilson F (Out).
Michigan State: None.
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Spartans are 1-7 ATS in their last eight neutral site games. Find more NCAA betting trends for Kansas vs. Michigan State.

Kansas vs Michigan State picks and predictions

Spread analysis

The Spartans begin this year in unfamiliar territory coming in unranked in the preseason AP Poll for the first time since 2012. The Spartans are coming off a poor season where they went 15-13 (9-11 in conference play) and were bounced in the First Four. They'll also have lots of new faces with only forwards Gabe Brown and Joey Hauser returning to the starting lineup. 

Underwhelming senior Marcus Bingham Jr. will likely slot in at center and a lot will be asked of a backcourt featuring transfer guard Tyson Walker and five-star recruit Max Christie. Walker averaged 18.8 points and 4.8 assists per game for Northeastern in the Colonial Athletic Association and proved that he can handle tougher opposition when he torched the Tar Heels for 27 points in February. It will be interesting to see how much of an upgrade he is over Rocket Watts who is one of four rotation players who transferred out. 

The Jayhawks went 21-9 last year before getting destroyed by USC in the second round of the NCAA tournament. They should once again be a national title contender and have +1,600 odds of winning the title. Sophomore forward Jalen Wilson will be out for the first three games of the year while serving a suspension for DUI, but three other starters from last season return, including leading scorer Ochai Agbaji and big man David McCormack (13.4 ppg and 6.1 rpg). 

They'll be joined by transfers Remy Martin, Jalen Coleman-Lands, Joseph Yesufu, and Cam Martin. Remy Martin led the Pac-12 in scoring with 19.1 ppg last season, Coleman-Lands averaged 14.3 ppg for Iowa State, Yesufu was the Missouri Valley Conference Sixth Man of the Year, and Cam Martin was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American.

With the new transfer rules in the NCAA, the offseason upheaval makes it tough to know what we're getting from either of these squads. However, with the Jayhawks returning so many key players, they might be better than MSU even without the influx of new talent. With the new guys, they seem like a good bet to cover.

Prediction: Kansas -4 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

When we last saw the Jayhawks they were getting pumped for 85 points by USC in the Round of 32. But don't let that take away from the Jayhawks' strong defensive play throughout the year with Kansas finishing 12th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom, and holding foes to 40.9 percent shooting during the regular season.

Bill Self teams always pride themselves on tough defense and with the experience and length of this lineup, they won't be easy to score against. The Spartans shot just 42.6 percent from the floor last season and lost their two best scoring options with both Aaron Henry and Joshua Langford deciding to forego their final year of eligibility. 

While Christie should eventually find his stroke, it's tough to expect so much from a freshman on Day 1, especially under the bright lights of MSG. That said, the Spartans should be improved on the defensive end of the court after allowing the most points per game (71.7) in Izzo's tenure with the program. 

Walker was the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and is pesky when pressuring opposing ball handlers. The rest of the Spartans lineup should also be more athletic than last year's squad, which gives Izzo the players he needs to run his defensive system. With the Under going 6-2-1 in the Jayhawks last nine games and also cashing in six of the Spartans' previous seven contests, back it again.

Prediction: Under 143.5 (-110)

Best bet

You always want to take preseason rankings with a grain of salt but there's a reason one of these schools is entering this season unranked while the other looks poised for a championship run. The Spartans should get better as the season goes on but the fact that they have just two returning players who averaged more than 5.0 ppg for them a year ago is cause for concern. They also don't have a single player on the 2021-22 Preseason All-Big Ten Team.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks are loaded both with returning proven players and a quartet of transfers and seem ultra-talented in all areas of the floor. They should be able to cover this spread.  

Pick: Kansas -4 (-110)

Pages related to this topic