Michigan State basketball and No. 2 Purdue will face off on Saturday night in Mackey Arena. Let’s dive into some bold predictions.
Michigan State basketball is in desperate need of a win, unfortunately, they have their most difficult game of the season up next. The Spartans travel to Purdue to take on the No. 2 Boilermakers. MSU always seems to struggle at Purdue, and the gap between these teams seems quite large this year.
But maybe we’ll be in for a surprise upset on Saturday and maybe some of these bold predictions will come true.
1. Michigan State leads at halftime
Predicting a win seems too boring to include here, so the next best thing is predicting a halftime lead. Michigan State has had issues getting off to slow starts this season, but I don’t think that’ll happen on Saturday.
The Spartans will come out hot, making four of their first five 3-pointers, and take an early double-digit lead. Purdue will fight back and keep it close, but I think Malik Hall will be in for a massive first-half performance. His early heroics will be just enough to give MSU a four-point halftime lead.
2. Malik Hall double-double
Speaking of Malik Hall, I think he will end this game with a double-double. He has been on fire recently, scoring double figures in five straight games. So Hall scoring at least 10 points again shouldn’t be a problem.
He, however, will also grab at least 10 rebounds. Hall has done this twice in his last four games, but this game will be more difficult than normal. Zach Edey is a vacuum down low when it comes to grabbing rebounds. Whether it be on offense or defense, Edey always has the best chance out of anyone on the court to get the rebound.
But I think Hall will be able to hold his own and take advantage of the times when Edey is out of position. So I predict another double-double from Hall with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
3. Purdue guard Braden Smith struggles to get anything going
I think we all know there’s no stopping Edey in this game. That’s why I think MSU will let Edey do his thing down low and put all its attention on stopping Purdue’s guards. No guard has been better for Purdue than Braden Smith.
If it weren’t for Edey, Smith would be talked about a lot more on the national landscape than he already is. He is averaging 12.7 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game. I however think MSU’s guards will be able to contain him.
I don’t think Michigan State will devote all of its attention to Edey and instead will key in on Smith. Last year in Michigan State’s biggest game of the season in the NCAA Tournament against Marquette, the Spartans held Marquette’s star guard Tyler Kolek to just seven points. I see something very similar happening in this game, where MSU will slow Smith down, making his impact almost unnoticeable in this game.
More must-reads: