The Spartans head to the D to play the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Little Caesars Arena this evening. Here’s what you need to know.
After picking up an impressive road win at Minny and thumping a defensive-minded Nebraska team to start conference play… and a good week off, MSU heads to Detroit today. The Spartans are back to No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Here are the details for this matchup.
Who: Michigan State vs. Oakland University (Detroit)
When: December 17th @ 7 PM
Where: Little Caesars Arena; Detroit, MI
TV: ESPN2
Records: MSU (8-2); Oakland (3-5)
Bet: MSU -16.5; over/under 134.5
Quick Facts About This Opponent: Like the Spartans, the Golden Grizz are coming into the game well-rested following a 10-day break. They last played a tough 66-50 loss at Youngstown State on Dec. 7. The Oakland record may be a bit deceptive though – three of the team’s losses in their season start were on the road at Boise State (87-43), at Illinois (66-54) and at Kansas (78-57). Oakland puts up about 62 ppg on 41% shooting (25% from three). Their two leading scorers are the forwards Mukeba and Naivalurua, averaging about 14 with 6 boards and 13 with 8, respectively. (The former also has 11 blocks in the initial 8 games.) Despite the W-L record in this matchup tilting towards the Spartans in a direction we’ll call… vertical, Greg Kampe always has his squad ready to play against the Green and White.
Brian’s Prediction: After seeing the 3s starting to drop in the first two conference matchups for the Good Guys, optimism and positive stat-trends abound. In this game, MSU will exploit their size advantage and continue to pound the boards to win the points in the paint matchup and drive that Carr, create fast break opportunities. They should tap even more depth in the rotation and pick up another win today.
Game Thread: Y’all know what to do!
Bonus: Please do check out the TOC CFP Bracket Challenge !