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After a massive weekend for the Big Ten, the conference will return to action on Monday night with Indiana and Michigan State in action. Both teams are looking to build off big wins over the weekend and keep the momentum rolling.
Let’s take a look at both games.
Big Ten Game of the Day
-Fort Wayne Mastodons at Indiana Hoosiers
- Time/TV: 8:00PM ET (BTN)
- KenPom Spread: Indiana (-12)
Monday night features a sneakily important game for a rising Hoosiers team. After scoring the team’s biggest win of the season on Saturday against Notre Dame, staying on the right track gains even more importance. Even though Indiana still isn’t projected as a top-tier Big Ten team, it feels like things are building.
And to try and keep that momentum going, Indiana gets to face its nemesis from last season. The Hoosiers dropped a crushing game to Fort Wayne last season that might have been the beginning of the end for Tom Crean and his staff. It’s a loss that Hoosier fans would like to put in the rear-view mirror once and for all.
From an analytical perspective, this one shouldn’t be all that close. Fort Wayne is 7-5 and hasn’t been very competitive against any of its quality opponents this season. The Mastodons also don’t have the frontcourt depth and experience to match up with players like De’Ron Davis and Juwan Morgan.
Either way, fans are going to be glued to this one.
- Pick Against the Spread: Indiana
The Rest:
-Houston Baptist Huskies at Michigan State Spartans
- Time/TV: 6:00PM ET (BTN)
- KenPom Spread: Michigan State (-29)
There’s literally nothing to say about this game that the spread doesn’t already say. Michigan State is going to be a colossal favorite on Monday night and should have no difficultly moving past an extremely overmatched Houston Baptist team.
The Huskies are 4-7 overall and are ranked 266th on KenPom. Meanwhile, Michigan State sits at 10-1 with its only loss coming against an elite Duke team. If the Spartans show up at all, this game shouldn’t even be competitive for a half.
- Pick Against the Spread: Michigan State
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Season Record vs KenPom’s Spread: 5-8-0