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Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. Stony Brook

Originally posted on Spartan Shadows | By Daily MSU | Last updated 12/21/23

Michigan State basketball will welcome Stony Brook to the Breslin Center on Thursday night. Will the Spartans stay hot?

Once again, I have to give myself a little credit. Usually my Michigan State basketball bold predictions are way off, but in the last two games, I’ve been on fire. Can we keep the magic going for Michigan State’s game against Stony Brook on Thursday night?

1. Tom Izzo gets a technical foul

I’m guessing this isn’t a prediction you expected to see. And no, this isn’t some random shot in the dark, there is some logic behind it. Tom Izzo just got his first technical of the year against Oakland, so why not make it two in a row? I don’t think he’ll get one because he’s that upset at the officials. He’ll time it out to be after a questionable call, but I think he’ll have ulterior motives behind it.

I think Izzo will do it to light a fire under his team and keep them motivated heading into their Christmas break. I also think he’ll want to make sure they aren’t getting too complacent after their last couple of wins. Getting a technical foul will show his team that complacency won’t cut it. It will show them that a couple of good wins mean nothing if they don’t stay motivated.

Thursday night is also the one-year anniversary of Izzo getting a technical foul in his ugly Christmas sweater. Check out the video below for this classic Izzo moment.

Tom Izzo getting called for a technical foul while wearing an elf sweater is the gift that keeps on giving. pic.twitter.com/Evd9XwJfDS

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) December 22, 2022

2. Michigan State wins by 30

There’s no doubt that Michigan State basketball is the far better team in this matchup. But are they 30 points better? I’m not so sure. The Spartans also tend to not blow teams out this badly, so it would for sure come as a surprise if MSU did. Just look at our last game against Oakland. The Spartans were up by over 20 but let Oakland cut into the lead a little to only win by 17.

Stony Brook however might be bad enough for us to accomplish this. They are by far the worst team the Spartans play the rest of the season, so they have that in their favor for this prediction. The Spartans also have seemingly turned a corner this season, and I think that will continue Thursday night in a big way.

3. Jaden Akins explodes for 20 points

I think Jaden Akins is due for a big game. He hasn’t been playing poorly by any means this season, but he still has yet to have a monster game. He is averaging 9.4 points per game this season which is slightly under his average from a year ago. His season high so far this year is 14 points against Georgia Southern.

He has been in double figures in seven out of 11 games which is quite a lot. But as I mentioned, we haven’t seen him go off in a game yet. I see him having a few monster dunks and four 3-pointers to help him get to 20 points. This would be perfect timing to get Akins going, so a big game from him would be huge for Michigan State’s confidence as conference play approaches.

This article first appeared on Spartan Shadows and was syndicated with permission.

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