Michigan State coach Tom Izzo did not expect his season opener to end with James Madison players celebrating in his face while he shook hands with opposing coach Curt Cignetti.
A massive upset kicked off the 2023-24 men’s college basketball season Monday night in East Lansing, Mich., with the Spartans losing straight-up to the Dukes, 79-76, as 16.5-point home favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook.
Michigan State entered as -2000 moneyline favorites, but the spread did see some action come in on James Madison.
The Dukes entered as +1000 moneyline underdogs.
The Spartans opened as 16.5-point favorites and were bet up to 17.5, but sharp action came in on the Dukes to move the line a bit just before tip-off down to 15.5.
Michigan State became first top-five team in the AP poll to lose its season opener against an unranked team since 2005, when these same Spartans lost to Hawaii, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
This upset also marked James Madison’s second-ever victory against a ranked opponent. They were 1-42 vs. ranked opponents coming into Monday night’s tilt, per ESPN.
Izzo coached teams had never lost in November at home — they were previously 73-0.
It is going to be nearly impossible to win in basketball when the 3-point shot doesn’t drop and the Spartans’ 1-for-20 performance (five percent) from beyond the arc is the clear culprit for the loss.
Izzo was asked after the game how practice was going to look for his players leading up to their game Thursday against Southern Indiana.
“Ugly. It’s gonna be ugly,” Izzo said. “They outplayed us. They deserved to win.”
While the Spartans are not a super young team, featuring only four freshmen on the roster, more than half (eight) players are considered underclassmen.
That inexperience can play a role in this type of early-season upset.
Betting on College Basketball?
At the start of the season, Caesars Sportsbook bookmaker Adam Pullen told ESPN that “College basketball is a sharp bettors’ paradise.”
The sharps would appear to have won this season-opening battle.
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