2011 NCAA Tournament Betting: UCLA Vs. Michigan State Odds Preview

UCLA No. 7 seed in the Southeast Region, will battle with the No. 10 seed Michigan St. Spartans on Thursday night.

Bodog sportsbook currently have Michigan St 1.5 point favorites against UCLA.

Michigan State edition has been underachieving all betting season long and with a 5-13 SU and 5-12-1 ATS mark against fellow tourney teams this season, Sparty is extremely fortunate to garner a bid. And fortunately for us, somehow the Spartans have been given the label of favorite this evening. How lucky, you ask?

Looking at their 6-16 ATS log when laying points this season, including 3-6 SU and 1-7-1 ATS as favorites of six or less points, how does VERY lucky sound? Especially when you consider that the Bruins are 11-4 SU in their 15 meetings against Big Ten opposition and their head coach, Ben Howland, owns a 14-4 SU and 13-4-1 ATS mark in his 18 dealings with the conference.

Toss in UCLA’s unblemished 5-0 ATS record in this tourney versus a foe off a SU loss of nine or more points and now we have the makings of a BEST BET.

UCLA led the Pac-10 with an average of 4.7 more rebounds than its opponents, and Michigan State ranked second in the Big Ten with an average of 4.2 more rebounds than its opponents. The Bruins led the Pac-10 with 5.8 blocked shots per game; the Spartans ranked second in the Big Ten with 4.8.

Date & Time: Thursday, March 17, 2011, 6:20 p.m. PST
Location: St. Pete Times Forum, in Tampa, Florida
TV: TBS