December 28 CBB lines

The holiday weekend is in the books, and the December 28 CBB lines are live on BetRivers.com as we make our final preparations to usher out 2020 and usher in 2021.

Monday features two intriguing matchups in the Big Ten as Maryland travels to Madison to take on Wisconsin, and Minnesota plays host to Michigan State. Out west, Colorado and Arizona tussle in the Pac-12 game of the night.

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Rob Dauster, a longtime national college basketball writer, and co-founder of the Field of 68 Podcast Network, analyzed the December 28 CBB lines, and is here to break down the numbers that matter in the key matchups.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL ODDS: MONDAY, DECEMBER 28 CBB LINES

#12 MICHIGAN STATE (6-2) at MINNESOTA (8-1), 8 p.m. ET
MONEYLINE: Michigan State -157, Minnesota +130
SPREAD: Michigan State -3
OVER/UNDER: 158.5 points
Click here for the full list of Michigan State-Minnesota odds.

This feels like an ideal buy-low, sell-high spot.

Michigan State is currently sitting at 0-2 in the Big Ten. They’ve lost at Northwestern, who is better than anyone thought they would be this year, and they’ve lost to Wisconsin at home, who may be the third best team in the country this year. Their issue is not on the offensive side of the ball, either. I know that people want to tell you that the Spartans are having trouble adjusting to life without Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman, but that’s just not accurate.

Michigan State is struggling on the defensive end of the floor. They cannot get stops. They gave up 85 points to Wisconsin on 68 possessions. They gave up 79 points to Northwestern on 69 possessions. They gave up 91 points to Oakland on 81 possessions. That’s just not going to get it done, and, with Tom Izzo as coach, it’s probably not going to last.

Eventually, that is going to change. Eventually, the Spartans are going to right the ship.

And I think Minnesota is the game where that happens. Look, when it comes to stopping Wisconsin, or stopping this new iteration of Northwestern, it takes a team effort. Right now, that’s not Michigan State’s forte. To slow down Minnesota, you need to slow down Marcus Carr. Aaron Henry, who I’m assuming will get the first crack at that defensive assignment, should be able to as well as anyone.

There is also some regression coming for Minnesota, who has now won eight of their first nine games and two in a row since Illinois beat their brains in. They went 10-25 from three against Saint Louis. They were 17-43 from three against Iowa, including an 8-9 performance from Brandon Johnson, who made 20 total threes last season and entered the game 2-10 from deep on the season. Their comeback and subsequent OT win was the result of hitting two threes in the final 30 seconds and five more threes in overtime.

This is the sell-high spot on the Gophers.

MARYLAND (5-3) at #9 WISCONSIN (8-1), 7 p.m. ET
MONEYLINE: Wisconsin -530, Maryland +390
SPREAD: Wisconsin -9.5
OVER/UNDER: 137 points
Click here for the full list of Maryland-Wisconsin odds.

I’ve never been a fan of this Maryland program under Mark Turgeon. Even when Turgeon has had some of his better teams, it’s difficult to buy into them too much, and that is certainly the case this season, after their lost their two best players in Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith.

The Terps have lost three of their last four games, including double-digit losses to Clemson and Rutgers, and they needed a miracle comeback just to make it a game against Purdue. Where the Terps struggle defensively is with a lack of size inside and an inability to run opposing teams off of the three-point line. The two things that Wisconsin does well this year?

Make threes and get the ball to their twin towers, Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers.

COLORADO (6-1) at ARIZONA (6-1), 9:30 p.m. ET
MONEYLINE: Arizona -148, Colorado +120
SPREAD: Arizona -2.5
OVER/UNDER: 138 points
Click here for the full list of Colorado-Arizona odds.

It’s hard to have a read on either of these teams at this point in the season. Arizona is 7-1 but has had a couple of wins that were closer than they should have been while Colorado has beaten the two worst high-major teams in college basketball and put up 47 points against Tennessee.

Colorado will have the best player on the floor, but I think that Arizona, who is far more talented, should be able to get this win on their home court.