Big Ten Tournament Finals: Battle for Michigan Part 3, Open Thread

#10 Michigan Wolverines vs. #6 Michigan State Spartans

3:30pm EDT | CBS | UM -1 | O/U 130.5

UM: 28-5 (15-5), KP 5, NET 9
MSU: 27-6 (16-4), KP 4, NET 8

This is the third game between these two teams in the past twenty-one days, and this time it’s either for all the marbles or none of the marbles, depending on how you view the Big Ten Tournament. Winner gets an auto-bid and an NCAAT seed in the 1-2 range, loser gets a non-auto bid and an NCAAT seed in the 2-3 range.

This season Michigan State is 2-0 against Michigan, with a point differential of +19 across those two game. According to comments I’ve seen in various places, Michigan State has looked good, although Brad Davison apparently amputated Cassius Winston’s foot yesterday. As a neutral third party, of course Winston will be fine and will dominate this game, because when has this dude failed in the face of adversity in the 2018-2019 season?

Of course, according to other comments I’ve seen, notably from a MSU “writer” for this very website, Michigan has looked very good in the tournament and is looking “like their disgustingly sharp postseason selves all of a sudden.”

The betting line started at MSU -1. When I started writing this blurb fifteen minutes ago, it was UM -1. It’s now Even. The two teams are within one spot of each other in both KenPom and NET. Beez-pick? MSU by 5, take the under.

What else is on today?

• Yale v. Harvard - Ivy League Tournament presented by TIAA...Championship, 12:00 p.m. EDT, ESPN2
• (22) Auburn v. (8) Tennessee - SEC Men’s Championship game, 1:00 p.m. EDT, ESPN
• Saint Louis v. St. Bonaventure, Atlantic 10 Championship game, 1:00 p.m. EDT, CBS
• UT-Arlington v. Georgia State - Sun Belt Championship, 2:00 p.m. EDT, ESPN2
• (24) Cincinnati v. (11) Houston - Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship game, 3:15 p.m. EDT, ESPN
• 2019 Selection Sunday Show - 6:00 p.m. EDT, CBS