Thursday's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 odds, betting trends: Michigan State vs. Kansas State taking most action, Tom Izzo's Spartans most popular team of night

The 2022-23 Michigan State Spartans might be one of Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo's least talented teams in years, with one player receiving All-Big Ten honors in second-team Tyson Walker. Yet Izzo's teams always thrive in March and are in yet another Sweet 16. No team is taking more action at BetMGM among the four Sweet 16 games tonight than No. 7 seed MSU, which is -1.5 against No. 3 Kansas State at Madison Square Garden. That game is also the most-wagered thus far. Click here for model picks.

The Spartans are making their 17th trip to the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, including their 15th under Izzo. With the second-round win upset of second-seeded and Big East champion Marquette, Izzo now has the most wins (16) as a lower seed by a head coach in NCAA Tournament history. He had been tied with fellow Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, who has retired.

Playing at the Garden will be a homecoming for Walker, a Northeastern transfer who played high school basketball at powerhouse Christ the King in New York City. He leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game, but is averaging 19.0 PPG and shooting 52.7% in his last seven games, including 44.4% from deep, while adding 3.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds in that span.

Walker is a senior but still has an additional season of eligibility remaining from the year the NCAA provided all athletes in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the CBS Sports Big Board for the 2023 NBA Draft, nary a Spartan is listed among its 54 players.

Perhaps bettors are well aware that Izzo's teams are 10-4 all-time in the Sweet 16 ,as the Spartans lead all clubs in tickets and handle tonight with 51% of the bets and 54% of the money. Those don't sound like huge leans, but because this game is taking so much action overall, Michigan State is atop the tickets and handle list. Kansas State is actually second on both. Michigan State and Kansas State have met seven times but not since 1996 and never in the Big Dance.

The total opened at 136.5 and is now 138.5, with 61% of the bets and 57% of the money on the Over. It is the most-wagered Over of all eight Sweet 16 games, although many bettors will wait until tomorrow to bet the four Friday matchups.

While there are some injury concerns in Arkansas-UConn (the Razorbacks' Anthony Black) and Gonzaga-UCLA (the Bruins' Adem Bona and David Singleton), there are none in Michigan State-Kansas State. 

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