Gophers open as underdogs for Big Ten opener against Michigan State

Minnesota will needs its best game of the year to take down the Spartans.

Nov 28, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Ben Johnson reacts after a play against the Wichita State Shockers in the second half at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Gophers men's basketball will open their 2024-25 Big Ten campaign Wednesday night at the Barn against Michigan State. Early betting odds have the Spartans as 5.5-point favorites.

In recent years the Big Ten has implemented two early conference games in December before full-time conference play officially begins in January. After Wednesday's game against Michigan State, Minnesota will travel to Bloomington on Monday, Dec. 9 to face Indiana in its first road test of the season.

NEWS: #Gophers MBB opens as (+5.5) point underdogs for tomorrow night's Big Ten opener at the Barn against Michigan State.

The Spartans are 6-2 this season with close losses to Memphis and Kansas, but they have wins over Colorado and UNC. https://t.co/b5Vs72cLjI pic.twitter.com/t6JDyXdTrL

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) December 3, 2024

Tom Izzo is in his 30th season as head coach at Michigan State and he has a classic Spartans team. After a trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, they are 6-2 this season with losses to Memphis and Kansas, but they have notable wins over Colorado and North Carolina. They're a veteran-laden and deep team.

Fourth-year guard Jaden Akins leads Michigan State with 12.9 points per game and Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler is second on the team with 11.4 per game. Minnesota fans might recognize the name Trejuan Holloman, who has come off the bench in seven games this season as a junior. The former Cretin-Derham Hall standout is averaging 7.6 points per game.

Michigan State's depth is shown off by seven different players averaging at least 7.5 points per game and 10 players averaging more than 14 minutes per game. The Big Ten preseason media poll voted them to finish fifth in the conference and the latest AP Top 25 poll had them 26th or first in the "receiving votes" category.

Prediction

Based on Ben Johnson's comments, it sounds like the Gophers could be without Mike Mitchell Jr. for another game, and that will severely hurt their chances in this one. The Spartans have one of the deepest teams in the country and they're 109th in tempo compared to the Gophers, who are 361st.

I think Izzo will test Minnesota's ability to score at a high level and he might speed this game up and go deep into his bench. Without Mitchell, I am not sure I see a path to victory for the Gophers in this one.

• Score: Michigan State 65 Minnesota 51