2015 Final Four Odds, Free Picks & Predictions – Michigan State vs Duke Expert Picks

2015 Final Four Odds, Free Picks & Predictions – Michigan State vs Duke Expert Picks: The second and final 2015 Final Four matchup was just set less than an hour ago as Duke punched their Final Four ticket and will face Michigan State in the second matchup Saturday, April 4th from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana at 6:05 PM EST. The odds makers at BetOnline.ag Sportsbook have posted the early odds on the Michigan State Spartans vs Duke Blue Devils matchup and the Blue Devils are listed as -4.5 point favorites over the Spartans. This matchup is absolutely fabulous and has arguably the two best head coaches in the entire sport going at it in what should be a great game to sit back, drink some beers and watch. However, our job is to make our clients money so let’s look at this game and figure out who to pick and put our hard earned money on.

2015 Final Four Odds, Predictions and Free Picks – Michigan State vs Duke Final Four Matchup Preview

Head coach Tom Izzo has his Michigan State Spartans back in the Final Four for the first time since 2010 and for the 7th time under his brilliant leadership on the Spartans bench. The Spartans enter the 2015 Final Four with an overall record of 27-11 and they earned their way to the Final Four Sunday with a hard fought 76-70 win over #4 seeded Louisville in overtime to win the East Region as the #7 seed. Michigan State will be looking to win the school’s 3rd National Championship this year to go along with the two it won in 1979 and 2000.

Michigan State enters the Final Four absolutely rolling and have won 8 of their last 9 games with the only loss being a game they probably should have won as they lost 80-69 to Wisconsin in overtime at the Big Ten Championship. Izzo is simply a master tactician at getting his team ready to peak in the NCAA Tournament when the games count and this March Madness run has been no different. The #7 seeded Spartans have earned their way to the Final Four the hard way by taking out #10 seed Georgia, #2 seed Virginia, #3 seed Oklahoma and #4 seed Louisville. The Spartans are playing with supreme confidence and they have three players who average double figures in scoring led by talented 6-0, 175 pound senior guard Travis Trice who scores 14.8 points per game to go with 5.4 dimes and 3.4 boards per game.

The Duke Blue Devils are back on College Basketball’s biggest stage in the Final Four for a remarkable 16th time in school history and the 12th time under the exemplary coaching of Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K has led Duke to four National Championships(1991, 1992, 2001, 2010) and has taken his team to the National Title Game four other seasons(1986, 1990, 1994, 1999). Coach K has a team this season that is definitely talented enough to add it’s name to that list as they come into this year’s Final Four with an overall record of 32-4 overall after beating #2 seeded Gonzaga 66-52 to win the South Region as the #1 seed.

Duke comes into this Final Four matchup with Michigan State winners in 16 of their last 17 games and absolutely playing the best basketball they’ve played all season as a team. The Blue Devils, in our opinion and in the eyes of many experts, have the best player in the Final Four and the projected the #1 pick in the upcoming 2015 NBA Draft in sensational freshman center Jahlil Okafor. The 6-11, 270 pound center from Chicago, Illinois leads Duke with 17.6 points per game to go along with 9.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. The kid is an absolute stud and if he brings his “A” game to the Final Four than every team, including Kentucky, better watch out.

This matchup is a rematch of a regular season game that Duke won early in the season on November 18th by a score of 81-71. However, that game was so early in the season that basing our pick on that outcome solely would be foolish and something that amateur handicappers would do. We’re better than that so let’s take a closer look at some numbers. Duke comes in averaging 79.9 points per game offensively and giving up 64.6 defensively while Michigan State comes in pumping in a 71.2 points per game offensively and surrendering 63 points a game on defense. Duke shoots the ball 50.5 percent from the floor and 69.1 percent from the free throw line and Michigan State shoots the rock at a 46.8 percent number from the field and 62.8 percent from the charity stripe. The stats clearly favor Duke and add to that fact that Duke has the best player on the court, more overall talent and a head coach every bit the equal and more than Tom Izzo and we have to take Duke in this matchup. We make no secret about our tremendous respect for Izzo and he has helped us win a lot of money the past few games against Oklahoma and Louisville, but we have to go against him in this game an lay the points with Duke.

2015 Final Four Free Picks: Duke -4.5 over Michigan State(Check the latest updated Final Four Odds from Bovada)