The Gold Sheet

THE PLAY: Michigan State +3.0 (-110)

Laying points with Michigan feels like playing with fire right now. The Wolverines have won six-straight games to claim the top spot in the Big Ten entering Friday, but those six wins have come by 4, 3, 4, 3, 2 and 3 points. This is obviously a very big game and Michigan head coach Dusty May should have no issues with finding motivation, but how much do the Wolverines have in the tank after playing six-straight nail-biters? Their game against Indiana was a lot closer than it needed to be after the Wolverines blew an 18-point lead. They needed a double-digit comeback to get past Purdue last week in a game where they trailed for the first 34 minutes. Sunday's clash with Ohio State was a 40-minute grind with neither team holding a lead of more than seven points through out the entire contest. The Wolverines hold the rest advantage and had a couple extra days to prep for this one, but Michigan is 1-8 against the spread in its last nine games and the lone cover was decided on the last shot of the game. There is a new regime in Ann Arbor, but Michigan State did sweep this series last year with a pair of double-digit wins. The under is 6-1 in the Spartans' last seven games as Coach Izzo's defense is beginning to hit its stride. We mentioned that Michigan holds the rest advantage in this matchup, but Michigan State is the much deeper team. Per KenPom, the Spartans are No. 14 in the country in bench usage this season while Michigan is outside the top-200. In the Wolverines' win over Ohio State, four players saw at least 30 minutes. In the Spartans' win over Purdue on Tuesday, no one played 30 minutes. Michigan State's defense leads the Big Ten in efficiency, effective field goal shooting allowed and three-point shooting allowed. We'll take the veteran team with the deeper bench and better defense getting points in this Big Ten battle.