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Opening Odds for Louisville Cardinals vs. Michigan State Spartans in March Madness 2026 Second Round

Opening Odds for Louisville Cardinals vs. Michigan State Spartans in March Madness 2026 Second Round

College Basketball Sports Betting Picks March Madness DraftKings Sportsbook Insights

Published:

By: Stan Son

The 6-seed Louisville Cardinals squeaked by the 11-seed South Florida Bulls on Thursday, 83-79. Louisville shot 54% from the field and 52% from beyond the arc, but converted only 56% from the charity stripe while turning the ball over 22 times.

The 3-seed Michigan State Spartans overwhelmed the 14-seed North Dakota State Bison, 92-67. Michigan State shot 59% from the field, 50% from downtown and 89% from the line. The Spartans were +12 on the glass, dished out 13 more dimes and had 10 more points in the paint.

The Cardinals and Spartans will meet on Saturday with tipoff TBD.

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Michigan State opens as a 4.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Louisville sits as a +170 underdog. The game total is set at O/U 150.5 points.

Michigan State finished with a 26-7 regular season record, good for second in the Big Ten. Per Bart Torvik, Michigan State has a power ranking of 13 with the 27th-best offense and 17th-best defense.

Louisville was 24-10 and finished sixth in the ACC. The Cardinals are rated as the 17th-best team with the 20th-best offense and 23rd-best defense.

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Stan Son
Stan joined DraftKings in December of 2020. It was a glorious time, except for that whole COVID thing, when we got Madden streams and boisterous bat flips from the KBO. I was brought on board to bring some West Coast flavor. I especially love hoops, and most of my content is in that arena. When I walk along the beach, strumming my guitar, the beat that I hear is not one of crashing waves. No, it is the beat of the ball bouncing off the hardwood with highs provided by the squeaks of the sneakers. Ball is life.
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