2009-2010 Michigan State Predictions
2008-09 Record: (31-7, 15-3 Big 10)
Coach: Tom Izzo (16th year, 336-137 at Michigan State)
Assistants: Mark Montgomery, Dwayne Stephens, Mike Garland
Ret. Starters/Lost: 3/2

Need winning college basketball predictions each week? Visit ATS Consultants and sign-up for the free sports picks newsletter for college basketball betting information and free college basketball picks

Overview: Michigan State lost in last year’s National Championship game to North Carolina by 17. This season, Tom Izzo returns three of the five starters, and it would be no shock to see the Spartans back in the Final Four, if not winning the whole thing. They do have to replace center Goran Suton, who led the conference in rebounding at 8.4rpg and Traivs Walton, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. But the team is still loaded at at every position, including point guard where junior Keilan Lucas (14.7ppg, 4.6apg) hopes to take his game to another level. What made last year’s final appearance even more special was that they did most of it with their top player, 6-8 Raymar Morgan having a down season (10.2ppg, 5.3rpg) due to walking pneumonia and a broken nose. Junior Durrell Summers is a tremendous athlete from the wing, while 6-3 junior guard Chris Allen is an excellent perimeter shooter. Delvon Roe (6-8, 5.6ppg, 5.2rpg) is a nice role player up front. They’ll need a pair of freshmen to step for Suton in Derrick Nix (6-9, 285) and Garrick Sherman (6-10, 235).

Outlook: Morgan is a potential All-American if he’s healthy this season and so is Lucas. They’ll need help from the role players, who will need to do the dirty work that Suton and Walton were so good at. There’s no reason why this team can’t return to the Final Four as long as they continue to play the physical Big 10 ball that Izzo likes.

This Big Ten conference prediction is courtesy of the ATS Sports Blog. If you are looking for winning college basketball betting picks be sure to choose ATS Consultants this year, A featured sports handicapping service on Touthouse.com

If you enjoyed this article then you may be interested in:

1. College Basketball Picks: Michigan State vs. Ohio State Betting Odds: March 14th 2009
2. NCAA Basketball Betting: Michigan vs. Michigan State Game Preview: February 10th 2009
3. Ohio State vs. Michigan State Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: January 6th 2009
4. College Basketball Predictions: Buffalo vs. Kent State: March 5th 2009
5. NCAA Basketball Betting: Michigan State vs. Purdue Odds & Picks: February 17th 2009