Michigan State basketball will be in Palm Springs on Thanksgiving to take on No. 3 Arizona. Let’s dive into some predictions.
Happy Thanksgiving, Spartan fans. It’s especially happy this year because we get to sit down before dinner and watch Michigan State basketball take on the No. 3 team in the nation in arguably the game of the day.
The Spartans are coming off two straight blowout wins over Butler and Alcorn State and Arizona is 5-0 to start the season with potentially the win of the season thus far at No. 2 Duke.
This is going to be the most challenging matchup for the MSU bigs and the defense overall as the Wildcats average nearly 100 points per game.
So without further ado, let’s dive into some turkey day fearless predictions.
1. Tyson Walker steals the show
We didn’t get the Tyson Walker Show
on Sunday night against Alcorn State because he was “sick as a dog” according to Tom Izzo. He didn’t need to play as Michigan State found its footing offensively and scored 81 points in a 32-point win. But not being able to watch him dominate was still somewhat of a letdown as he’s putting together a legitimate national player of the year case.
Well, that campaign will continue on Thursday evening.
Walker will face potentially his toughest test of the season against the red-hot Wildcats, but he’s going to get going early and stay hot throughout. He’ll lead all scorers with 22 points to go along with four assists and one turnover. Once again, he’ll shoot over 50 percent from the field. Fans from across the country will get acquainted with the Spartan sensation.
2. Carson Cooper has his best game as a Spartan
Michigan State is facing its toughest test of the season with two bigs who average in double figures. You know what that means? It’s time for Carson Cooper to rise to the occasion. He’s been exceeding expectations ever since he became a Spartan and that’s going to continue on Thursday.
Coop will play with a ton of energy and finish with nine points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. This will be the game when everyone realizes the Spartans have a legitimate rim-protecting big man worth praising.
3. Michigan State pulls off the “upset”
It’s hard to call anything an “upset” this early in the season especially because Michigan State basketball began the year ranked No. 4. But this would be considered an upset. The Spartans are ranked No. 21 and Arizona has jumped to No. 3 after its red-hot start. The Wildcats seem to be firing on all cylinders with one of the nation’s top offensive attacks and a really strong defense.
But Michigan State has been gaining confidence and Izzo is due for at least one non-conference “wow, he really pull it off” win every year.
This will be it.
The underdog Spartans will go into Palm Springs and pull off the impressive upset to improve to 4-2 and we’ll see them jump back into the top 15 in next week’s rankings. Oh, and we’ll see a smiling Tom Izzo in the post-game interview. That will set us all up for a happy Thanksgiving meal.
More must-reads: