The 7^th-seeded Michigan State Spartans will clash against the 3^rd-seeded Kansas State Wildcats Thursday in the East Regions Sweet 16 inside the famed Madison Square Garden. They jump it up at 6:30 pm and the Spartans are a slim 2 1/2 point favorite.Michigan State Spartans Betting PreviewThe Spartans (21-12) had a huge win in the 2^nd round when they defeated Marquette, 69-60 to advance to this point. They made some huge plays late in the game and were able to secure the nine-point margin of victory.Michigan State on offense is paced by senior guard Tyson Walker who averages close to 14 points a game to go along with just under three rebounds and three assists per contest. He gets some solid production from his teammate senior forward Joey Hauser, who chips in with just over 14 points a game and he does a great job of hauling down around eight rebounds per contest.The Spartans will push the pace and try to limit Kansas State into fast break points and opportunities in this game. They would love to make the Wildcats try to match them point for point. The Spartans have shown a great deal of heart and guts during their first two games of March Madness and they have done a great job of finding unsung heroes around the way. Against Marquette, junior guard A.J. Hoggard had a huge game too as he scored 13 points on five-of-nine shooting from the floor. As a whole, the Spartans connected on 45% from the floor, while drilling 39% from beyond the arc.Kansas State Wildcats Betting PreviewThe Wildcats (25-9) have enjoyed a great season and they are going to be on the upset trail as they take on a very good Spartans squad. They are fresh off a huge upset win over 75-69 win over 6^th-seeded Kentucky. On paper, it did not look like an upset but it was, and the Wildcats continue to pull off some big-time surprises.On offense, they are led by senior forward Keyontae Johnson who scores around 17 points a game to go along with seven rebounds per game. He is a big-time player and he can play both ends of the floor and is also a solid rebounder.They connect on 45% from the floor while connecting on 34% from beyond the arc and they score close to 75 points per game as well. They only allow 68 per game on defense and they will have to make sure they do not allow the Spartans to get up and down the floor. Game Odds, Series Trends and Free PickThe Wildcats are 3-2 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the number and 5-6 in their road games against the spread and the totals have gone over in two of their last five games and six of their last 21 games at home. The Spartans are 3-2 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the number and 5-7 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in four of their last five games and nine of their last 19 at home. This might be a high-scoring game, and the total might be in play here.Persian Pick: Michigan State Spartans- 2 1/2