UCLA Bruins vs Michigan State Spartans Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 03/13/26

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The UCLA Bruins and the Michigan State Spartans will meet on Friday night inside the United Center in the Big Ten Tournament. The winner will advance to the semifinals, while the other will head home for some rest before hearing its name called on Selection Sunday. Michigan State received byes to the quarterfinals and should be well rested, while UCLA got past Rutgers last night to get to Friday’s action. The spread is 6 points in favor of Michigan State and I expect the Spartans to cover that spread.

The Spartans will likely be too physical for UCLA and will wear them down toward the end of the game. MSU is one of the best rebounding teams in the country and will likely dominate UCLA on the glass. According to KenPom, Michigan State is ranked #6 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage; UCLA is ranked just #238 in defensive rebounding percentage. The last matchup between these 2 teams resulted in an 82-59 victory for the Spartans in which they out-rebounded the Bruins 37 to 27. I expect a similar result in round 2.

UCLA vs Michigan State prediction: Michigan State -6 (-120) available at time of publishing. Playable to -10.