Michigan State did it again.
For the second game in a row, the Spartans overcame a second-half deficit to avoid being upset in the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan State trailed Ole Miss, 48-39, with 12 minutes to go in the Sweet 16 before going on a 14-2 run en route to a 73-70 victory.
The win earned Sparty a date with Auburn, the top seed in the field, with a place in the Final Four on the line.
Auburn is a 5.5-point favorite at the time of writing.
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Michigan State vs. Auburn betting preview
The formula for Michigan State feels familiar. The Spartans are a strong defensive team and an elite rebounding unit, the Spartans are built to outlast lesser opponents and hang around with more talented sides.
The ceiling for Michigan State may not be as high as some of the No. 1 seeds in this field, but their floor is higher than just about any team in the country.
It’s really hard to get any separation from this team.
Betting on College Basketball?
Auburn has won – and covered – in its last two contests, but the Tigers have yet to truly be tested in the Big Dance.
War Eagle dispatched Michigan without too much fuss in the Sweet 16 and did the same to Creighton in the Round of 32, but now they’ll face a team ranked inside KenPom’s top 20 for the first time in the tournament.
Michigan State vs. Auburn pick
It’s really hard to poke any holes in this Auburn team. The Tigers own the nation’s third-most efficient offense and eighth-most efficient defense, per KenPom.
They’ll be tested by a strong Michigan State defense, but that’s nothing new for the Tigers, who went 30-5 overall and 18-13 Against the Spread despite playing the second-hardest schedule in the country.
Auburn played 21 Quad 1 games this season and went 16-5 in those contests.
It may look like the Tigers slowed down during the final weeks of the season, but they’d all but wrapped up a No. 1 seed at that point, so it’s fair to wonder if they were looking ahead to the tournament.
They should be too much for Sparty to handle.
The Pick: Auburn -5.5 or better
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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