The Rebels of Ole Miss (24-11) take the court Friday in the Sweet 16 against the Michigan State Spartans (29-6).
Sparty arrives in Atlanta following decisive victories over Bryant (87-62) and New Mexico (71-63). In Sunday’s win over the Lobos, it was not until the second half when Tom Izzo’s crew began to assert themselves. Michigan State rallied from a two point halftime deficit to win going away. No surprise it was a balanced attack for the Spartans with just three players reaching double figures. Jaden Akins paced the attack with 16 points. He was the only starter to reach double figures.
As Tom Izzo prepares for his 16th Sweet 16, the Hall of Famer needs to find a way to get Jase Richardson on track. Sunday, the freshman scored just six points on 1-10 shooting from the field. The Spartans need Richardson tomore efficient and simply more productive against Ole Miss.
Chris Beard has Ole Miss in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001. The Rebels won convincingly Sunday against Iowa State. The Cyclones may have been the most impressive team in the Opening Round but Ole Miss stomped them on Sunday, 91-78. Sean Pedulla led the Rebels’ offense with his second 20-point outing of the Tournament. Jaemyn Brakefield contributed 19 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
Ole Miss has struggled this season rebounding the basketball. They ranked just 15th in the SEC in that department and were outrebounded 34-29 against Iowa State Sunday. They advanced because they shot lights out (11-19 from beyond the arc). Michigan State’s physical defense demands that the Rebels get physical around the rim if they want to prevail Friday.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Ole Miss vs. Michigan State
- Date: Friday, March 28, 2025
- Time: 7:09PM EST
- Site: State Farm Arena
- City: Atlanta, GA
- Network/Streaming: CBS
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Game odds for Ole Miss vs. Michigan State
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Ole Miss Rebels (+140), Michigan State Spartans (-170)
- Spread: Spartans -3.5
- Total: 143.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Ole Miss vs. Michigan State
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) believes the Rebels will cover the number: Ile Miss Rebeles +3.5
“Ole Miss’ experience showed against Iowa State. The 3rd-most experienced roster in the country never trailed after 5 minutes versus the Cyclones and UNC never led at all against the Rebels. Michigan State’s three-point shooting will be called into question after going 4-of-15 against New Mexico. Ole Miss held their opponents to go 13-of-46 from beyond the arc, so Ole Miss can absolutely win this game at MSU’s tempo. With seven players with NIT or NCAA tournament experience, Ole Miss is one of the underdogs to watch out for this weekend.”
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s Rebels & Spartans game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on Michigan State on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on Michigan State -3.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning to a play on the Game Total OVER 143.5.
Ole Miss vs. Michigan State: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Ole Miss is 2-0 against the spread in the NCAA Tournament this year and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games dating back to the regular season
- Game Totals in Ole Miss games have gone 1-1 (O/U) in the NCAA Tournament
- Michigan State is 2-0 against the spread in the NCAA Tournament and 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games
- Game Totals have cashed to the UNDER in both of Michigan State’s NCAA Tournament games this season
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
