Michigan vs. Michigan State odds, line: College basketball picks, predictions from model on 111-87 roll

No. 7 Michigan travels to No. 9 Michigan State for an 8 p.m. ET game Saturday as regular-season action comes to a close for both teams. The Spartans are favored by four points, with the over-under for total points set at 135.5 in the latest odds. The teams are tied with Purdue for first place in the Big Ten at 15-4. It’s going to be as intense of a regular-season battle as you’ll see this year, and you’ll definitely want to check out the Michigan vs. Michigan State picks and college basketball predictions from the proven computer model at SportsLine before locking in your own selections.

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned nearly $4,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 18 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a strong 111-87 run against the spread. Anyone who has followed it is way up. 

Now, the model has locked in on Michigan vs. Michigan State. We can tell you it’s leaning to the over, and it has also identified one side of the spread that hits in over 60 percent of simulations. You absolutely need to see it over at SportsLine before you lock in your own picks.

For Saturday, the model knows that Cassius Winston will continue to be the key for Michigan State without Joshua Langford (ankle) and Nick Ward (hand). Winston is a do-it-all point guard who can go for 20 points on any given night. He also sets his teammates up with the third-highest assist rate in the nation. Without Ward and Langford, Winston has taken it upon himself to get the frontcourt of Xavier Tillman and Kenny Goins more involved.

In the first meeting with Michigan two weeks ago, Winston set Goins up for 16 points and 11 rebounds with his dribble penetration, while Tillman chipped in 14 points. Meanwhile, Winston got to the free-throw line 14 times and scored 27 points in the huge win on the road.

However, the Wolverines also have a great chance to cover the Michigan vs. Michigan State spread on Saturday evening. 

The Wolverines have rebounded from their loss to Michigan State on Feb. 24 with a dominant 82-53 win over Nebraska and an impressive win on the road over Maryland as an underdog. The Maryland game, in particular, should be a blueprint for how the Wolverines can slow down a dynamic guard-forward duo.

Michigan held Bruno Fernando and Anthony Cowan Jr. to a combined 9-for-28 shooting in that game. That disrupted the flow of the Maryland offense enough for Michigan to win comfortably, 69-62. If Michigan can disrupt Winston and Goins in a similar way, the Wolverines should be able to keep things close on Saturday, if not pull off the upset, even with Charles Matthews (ankle) considered a game-time decision. 

So who wins Michigan State vs. Michigan? And which side of the spread hits in over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Michigan State vs. Michigan spread you should be all over Saturday, all from the model that has returned more than $4,200 to $100 players the last two years.