Michigan State vs. Kentucky Score Predictions

[subzero02]

The under card in the champions classic features the 2 two teams we have already beaten in this event. Vegas has the Spartans as a 3.5 point favorite but I am leaning towards the cats in this matchup. I like Kentucky in an 86-77 victory. Thoughts?

[weezie]

I'm going to go all crazy and pick msu 79-74 in an arena well stocked with sparty fans.
Johnny C might think I'm not being fair so I hope he doesn't start crying.

[bbosbbos]

I really hate Calimari and believe he does not know coaching, his team gonna lost big tonight.

[conmanlhughes]

MSU wins 79-70. combination of talent and experience will overwhelm the wildcats, who will need their bench to preform at full depth due to the large #of fouls called.

[Ichabod Drain]

81-69 UK goes HAM

[Henderson]

Cal said it's unfair to make his team play Michigan State and agreed to forfeit the game.

0-0 MSU

[flyingdutchdevil]

Bold prediction: MSU will crush UK by 10 points, 82-68

More realistic prediction: Calipari is seen giving Okafor a thick envelope. Okafor opens the envelope in front of the cameras, showing the stack of high society, smiling, and giving the envelope back to Calipari. Calipari resigns the next day. Okafor commits to Duke on Friday, saying that Calipari had tried to bride him and Tyus multiple times but neither recruit caved.

[BD80]

I predict more fouls than field goals made

[Henderson]

Bold prediction: MSU will crush UK by 10 points, 82-68

More realistic prediction: Calipari is seen giving Okafor a thick envelope. Okafor opens the envelope in front of the cameras, showing the stack of high society, smiling, and giving the envelope back to Calipari. Calipari is named head coach at another school the next day to avoid paying for his transgression. Okafor commits to Duke on Friday, saying that Calipari had tried to bride him and Tyus multiple times but neither recruit caved.

Fixed.

[Native]

I like MSU by a lot as well. I think it's a completely unfair and one-sided matchup. :D

[duke4ever19]

Bold prediction: MSU will crush UK by 10 points, 82-68.

You mean 14 points, right?

I think a UK win would be unfortunate, because that would mean that they are talented enough to take down a much more experienced/seasoned MSU team without having had much time to gel.
Honestly, I hope they get the doors blown off and take several months to recover their confidence :D

However, doesn't MSU tend to struggle early in the season and peak towards the tournament?
This might be a common misconception, but I seem to remember this being the case.

[AncientPsychicT]

Bold prediction

More realistic prediction

Lies! I count two bold predictions.

As for my (serious) score, I say 71-65 UK. I may not be sold on UK's freshmen, but they are more likely to prove me wrong than MSU's PG Appling.

[Dev11]

in an arena well stocked with sparty fans.

I don't know, those Cats travel. I bet the first game makes up over 70% of the crowd given the proximity of MSU and the utter madness of UK.

[jv001]

MSU= 78 vs. Kentucky= 71. Cal is outcoached by Izzo and comes out the loser he is. GoDuke!

[-jk]

I don't know, those Cats travel. I bet the first game makes up over 70% of the crowd given the proximity of MSU and the utter madness of UK.

Lord!, yes. I was at the Maui Invitational when UK brought 500 fans without tickets. Duke won the first semi, and all of us stayed to see the ncaa rematch of UK AZ.

Fans were sitting on the steps (Fire Marshall be damned) or shut out entirely. Ugly.

But without a doubt, UK travels well!

-jk

[matt1]

MSU 71-63- I have no confidence in Calipari's system right now, while you cannot argue with MSU's consistent success.

[freshmanjs]

MSU 71-63- I have no confidence in Calipari's system right now, while you cannot argue with MSU's consistent success.

sorry but how is MSU success more consistent than Cal's? it's true that he missed the ncaa last year, but izzo had a 19-15 season with a 1st round exit just 3 years ago. over a 5 year span, KY is better on just about any metric you want to look at.

[-jk]

For those interested, we've opened DBR Chat.

-jk

[moonpie23]

this isn't the same team as the group who lost the first round of the NIT last year, but it's the same coaching staff…….and the guys on UK last year weren't chopped liver…..


it remains to be seen how this super group will "gel"……..sparty will try hard to hamper that…

[FerryFor50]

Lord!, yes. I was at the Maui Invitational when UK brought 500 fans without tickets. Duke won the first semi, and all of us stayed to see the ncaa rematch of UK AZ.

Fans were sitting on the steps (Fire Marshall be damned) or shut out entirely. Ugly.

But without a doubt, UK travels well!

-jk

To be fair, Chicago is decidedly not Hawaii... :)

[matt1]

sorry but how is MSU success more consistent than Cal's? it's true that he missed the ncaa last year, but izzo had a 19-15 season with a 1st round exit just 3 years ago. over a 5 year span, KY is better on just about any metric you want to look at.

I am probably just overreacting to last year, but we know so little about this Kentucky team, as few of their key players have played a significant college game. We will learn a lot about them tonight.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Ha! Maybe Cal was right about it not being fair for his little boys.

[-jk]

To be fair, Chicago is decidedly not Hawaii... :)

Yeah. It's a whole lot closer...

-jk

[FerryFor50]

Ha! Maybe Cal was right about it not being fair for his little boys.

No kidding. MSU is really taking it to Kentucky...

[moonpie23]

izzo tricking johhny with defense…


sparty slapping the floor…..

UK looks kinda rattled…...

[FerryFor50]

Can't spell Kentucky without ky...

[NYBri]

I predict MSU jumps out to a 10-0 lead.

[weezie]

81-69 UK goes HAM

Yikes, winner winner. Ky looks positively dopey at this point.

[FerryFor50]

Julius Randle isn't nearly as impressive against MSU as he was against the small fry teams Kentucky started out with.

[kAzE]

Randle with 4 turnovers already . . . and Gary Harris is taking the Cats to school.

[diveonthefloor]

Is it just me, or does Jay always seem like a Kentucky apologist.

[FerryFor50]

Is it just me, or does Jay always seem like a Kentucky apologist.

Someone needs to apologize for the effort they put out there so far...

[jipops]

Is it just me, or does Jay always seem like a Kentucky apologist.

He likes to go against the grain. Ok by me.

MSU looking like a very bad matchup for us. They are big, fast, and experienced. I hope we don't see them in the tournament. Though, if we do meet up it could be in the FF.

[Philadukie]

He likes to go against the grain. Ok by me.

MSU looking like a very bad matchup for us. They are big, fast, and experienced. I hope we don't see them in the tournament. Though, if we do meet up it could be in the FF.

MSU is a bad matchup for anybody.

[subzero02]

I get done at work at 9 but I might be making an 845 departure so I can watch the entire second half

[moonpie23]

once jay anoints a team, he's an apologist for them for the rest of the season….

[BD80]

Is it just me, or does Jay always seem like a Kentucky apologist.

Go Jay! "UK looking past MSU to revenge game against Robert Morris!"

[moonpie23]

this game is enjoyable so far, but THIS is really enjoyable…. :)

http://kentucky.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=888&fid=1383

[moonpie23]

jay is kinda making me a little nauseated…...

[FerryFor50]

this game is enjoyable so far, but THIS is really enjoyable…. :)

http://kentucky.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=888&fid=1383

Man that board is a free for all... Multiple threads with the same topic, rants, etc.

Glad we have DBR. :)

[NashvilleDevil]

jay is kinda making me a little nauseated…...

Agreed. Mute has been on since Kentucky got it to 6, immediate 6-0 Sparty run

[Henderson]

Man that board is a free for all... Multiple threads with the same topic, rants, etc.

Glad we have DBR. :)

I was thinking exactly that. I went over to see how they were taking it, and it was so chaotic I gave up. Linear thought is a lot to ask when so much of your brain is occupied remembering to mouth-breathe.

[FerryFor50]

You wouldn't think it, but UK is killing MSU on the glass. And they've clawed their way back into the game...

[kAzE]

3 point game with 8 minutes to go. Payne on the bench with 4 fouls, and UK has all the momentum. Looks like UK might pull this one out after all.

[kAzE]

Randle is having a HUGE second half . . . I think their dominance on the boards is going to win the game for UK.

[FerryFor50]

Randle is having a HUGE second half . . . I think their dominance on the boards is going to win the game for UK.

Yea he's really turned it on.

Now I am impressed. :)

[Bluedog]

The best news from this game, as far as I'm concerned, is that Ted Valentine is reffing, so he can't ref our game. :)

[kAzE]

The best news from this game, as far as I'm concerned, is that Ted Valentine is reffing, so he can't ref our game. :)

Wait, seriously? Is there some kind of rule in place that they can't do 2 games in a row, or do refs just typically not officiate a double header? He might do an extra game to spite us.

[FerryFor50]

The best news from this game, as far as I'm concerned, is that Ted Valentine is reffing, so he can't ref our game. :)

That explains the foul discrepancy...

[FerryFor50]

Randle seems shocked that Payne is as strong as he is...

[kAzE]

Oy, Coach Cal's achilles heel (free throw shooting) is really killing them right now. They are 19 for 35. Jeez, not even Valentine can save them if they keep shooting it like that.

[FerryFor50]

Sparty got killed on the glass but got the most important rebound of the game...

[pfrduke]

I'm going to go all crazy and pick msu 79-74 in an arena well stocked with sparty fans.
Johnny C might think I'm not being fair so I hope he doesn't start crying.

Hey, that's not far off.

[flyingdutchdevil]

...is ridiculous.

NOW LET'S GO DUKE!

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Was anyone else stumped as to why Kentucky was not fouling down 2 with 20ish seconds to go? I mean, they weren't even pressuring the ball. Did they think that if MSU missed they would automatically get 2 pts. Maybe I got the scenario wrong but it seemed like an inane thing for them not to be fouling.

[wk2109]

Was anyone else stumped as to why Kentucky was not fouling down 2 with 20ish seconds to go? I mean, they weren't even pressuring the ball. Did they think that if MSU missed they would automatically get 2 pts. Maybe I got the scenario wrong but it seemed like an inane thing for them not to be fouling.

I think there was a 5 second difference between game and shot clock (25 on game, 20 on shot), so UK wanted to try to get a stop, keep it a one possession game, then try to tie/win it at the end. Someone might argue that 5 seconds is cutting it kind of close, but I think it was a reasonable decision.