Oddsmakers expect No. 7 Michigan State to upset No. 3 Kansas State in the Sweet 16
Who has the courage to fade Izzo in March?
Ahead of the men’s NCAA tournament round of 64, oddsmakers pegged three lower-seeded teams to pull off an upset on the bracket and favored them on the spread.
No. 9 Auburn (-1.5) easily routed No. 8 Iowa, but No. 10 Utah State (-2.5) fell to No. 7 Missouri while No. 8 Maryland survived No. 9 West Virginia (-2.5).
As teams get read to play in the Sweet 16 on Thursday and Friday, there’s an even bigger upset oddsmakers expect. No. 7 Michigan State is a 1.5-point favorite against No. 3 Kansas State (+110) at BetMGM and its not the most shocking development.
Not only did the Spartans just knock off No. 2 Marquette in the second round, but head coach Tom Izzo will be on the sidelines in the Sweet 16 for the 14th time since 1998. Kansas State’s Jerome Tang, on the other hand, is not only making his Sweet 16 debut, he’s doing so in his first season as a head coach in college basketball. Prior to Kansas State, Tang was an assistant with Baylor and went to the Sweet 16 five times, but it’s a lot different when you’re the one running the show.
For that reason — and considering KenPom ranks the Spartans’ offense slightly above the Wildcats’— the edge in this one goes to Izzo.
Then again, oddsmakers only correctly picked one out of three upsets it forecasted last week. So maybe this is actually good news for Kansas State.
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