A pair of five seeds will go at it in Indianapolis, IN this Saturday in one of the most unlikely match-ups of Final 4 betting history when the Michigan State Spartans (28-8, 15-20 ATS) and Butler Bulldogs (32-4, 16-20 ATS) collide; tip is scheduled for 6:05 ET and it can be seen live on CBS.
The Bulldogs are 1.5-point March Madness odds favorites and the over/under is 126.
If you pegged Michigan State to come out of the Midwest Bracket at the onset of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, you made out nicely with a hefty return. They beat out Kansas, Ohio State, Georgetown, and Maryland to do so.
The Spartans battled a multitude of injuries and took advantage of an easier than most thought path to reach the Final 4 in back to back seasons. This trip marks the Spartans sixth trip to the Final 4 under the watchful eye of head coach Tom Izzo.
Michigan State’s first victim came in the form of a gritty New Mexico State bunch. Though they held a comfortable 42-29 lead at the break, the Aggies proved resilient and at one point took the lead in the second half. Still, the MSU Spartans held on for the 70-67 victory but grossfully failed to cover the lofty 13-point NCAAB odds.
Their second round battle with Maryland came down to the closing moments. Seconds after Greivis Vasquez put the Terps up by one, Korie Lucious introduced himself to the CBB betting world by draining a three-pointer as time expired. The two-point victory propelled the Spartans into the Sweet 16 for the third straight time.
They had their hands full for the majority of their game with the upstart Northern Iowa Panthers, but the Spartans pulled away late to secure their second pointspread cover of March Madness. MSU found itself in another tough battle in the Elite 8 against Tennessee, but in the end, the Spartans made good on their own breaks to punch their ticket to Indianapolis.
Overall, Michigan State stands 4-0 SU & 3-1 ATS in 2010 NCAA Tournament betting.
The Butler did it! Not once twice or three times, but four times to reach the Final 4! With them pulling off the feat, it marks the first time that a Horizon Conference member ever made it this far.
Shockingly, the Bulldogs had their toughest go of it in the first two rounds of March Madness betting. Down six at the break against UTEP in round one, Butler exploded in the second half outscoring the Miners 50-26 to easily cover the 2.5-point closing spread. They also broke the record for most 3-pointers made in an NCAA Tournament game.
They got their biggest scare in round two against the Murray State Racers, but managed to survive winning 54-52 to punch their tickets into the Sweet 16.
The Bulldogs then made Salt Lake City, UT their home away from home by knocking off the regions top two seeded teams in Syracuse and Kansas State. They dominated the Orange from the opening tip, and save for the Wildcats making a run at the beginning of the second half, they never once let up.
Overall, Butler won all four of its March Madness battles and covered the closing pointspread in three of them.
This will be the first ever meeting between the Michigan State Spartans and the Butler Bulldogs on the college hardwood. The Spartans are 5-2 SU & 4-3 ATS in their seven neutral court battles, while the Bulldogs are 5-3 SU & 4-4 ATS in their eight.
MSU is a $$$-making 25-10-1 ATS its L/36 NCAA Tournament games and 4-1 ATS its L/5 games as a Tourney underdog. Butler is 5-1-1 ATS its L/7 games against Big 10 opposition, but just 1-4 ATS the L/5 times it was favored on a neutral court.
Mike Rose has been in the sports handicapping business for over a decade, and is a leading sports writer for some of the top sports betting news websites on the internet. To keep up with him on a daily basis, you can