Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. Michigan

With Michigan State basketball taking the floor tonight against Michigan, let’s dive into three of our boldest predictions.

The Spartans are set to host rival Michigan on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center. This game feels like a must-win for many reasons, but I’m personally hoping that Michigan State basketball beats the Wolverines by a large margin.

With Michigan (7-13, 2-7) in last place in the Big Ten, I think it’s fair that we get really bold in our predictions this game. Let’s dive into it, shall we?

1. MSU wins by 25+

I know I just said that Michigan is one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, but winning by 25 is still going to be tough. Even with all of Michigan’s losses, a lot of them have only been by single-digits. They have only lost one game by at least 25 when they lost at Purdue two games ago 99-67. The worst two losses after that are to Texas Tech by 16 and Illinois by 15. So even though Michigan loses a lot, they are keeping games close.

One thing in Michigan State’s favor is that a lot of their wins have come by a large margin. Out of MSU’s 12 wins, 11 have been by double-digits. The Spartans also have four games they have won by at least 25 points, and seven by at least 20. So maybe winning this game by 25 isn’t that crazy of a prediction.

But Michigan has shown they can keep games close, so that’s why I’m filing this prediction into the “bold” category.

2. Michigan State finally has a big hit double figures

It’s been quite some time since a Michigan State big has hit double figures. Jaxon Kohler is yet to hit that mark this season, but he still doesn’t look like his normal self yet after coming off an injury. Kohler did score a season-high six points against Wisconsin, so maybe he is trending this direction.

Moving on now to the two bigs that have played in every game this season, I’m shocked to see how long it’s been since they’ve scored in double figures. Carson Cooper last did it six games ago against Northwestern, but he has failed to even score in MSU’s last two games. Mady Sissoko, on the other hand, hasn’t scored double figures since November when they played Georgia Southern. For those of you counting at home, that was 14 games ago.

I’m not bold enough to predict who will hit double figures, but Kohler or Sissoko are the most likely options. Kohler is trending in the right direction off his injury and Mady has at least scored in every recent game, but there really is no telling who’s going to be the one to hit double figures this game.

3. MSU records 25 assists

Michigan State is one of the best teams in the country in assists per game. They are No. 18 in the country and No. 4 in the Big Ten averaging 17.4 per game. However, the Spartans have only hit this mark twice this year against Stony Brook (33) and Penn State (25).

This obviously won’t be easy, by I’m channeling Mateen Cleaves and MSU’s performance against Michigan in 2000 for this prediction. MSU beat Michigan on March 4, 2000, 114-63 and racked up 36 assists during the game. This total is still a program record to this day. Cleaves individually accounted for 20 assists in this game, which by the way has only been accomplished 24 total times in college basketball history and is also another program record.

Now breaking these records will always be too bold to predict, but I think Michigan State basketball will hit 25 for the third time this season.