Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions for January

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Dec 6, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; (Left to right) Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (not dressed) guard Cassius Winston (5) and guard Kyle Ahrens (0) celebrate from the bench during the second half against the Youngstown State Penguins at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Spartans win 77-57. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Michigan State will go 5-1 in the month

The month of December turned out well, outside of one blemish, for Michigan State and I’d expect January to be the same way. Fortunately for the Spartans, the schedule for January is quit favorable.

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In fact, it starts out with Rutgers on Wednesday and then Penn State, both at home, the following game, which should be two more wins and a 4-0 start in conference play. Then Minnesota will come to town for a rematch of the Big Ten opener which could be the Spartans’ toughest matchup of the month.

Minnesota is out for blood and that could be a loss for Michigan State, but I say it will end up winning by three. At Ohio State would have seemed like a daunting task earlier in the year, but the Buckeyes just don’t seem to have that killer instinct this season.

The game that worries me most this month is at Indiana and that’s the one loss I see on Michigan State’s January slate. Playing at Assembly Hall is never an easy task and this year’s Hoosiers team can beat just about anyone.

Hosting Purdue the following week will also be a tough matchup, but the Breslin Center crowd is going to get in Caleb Swanigan’s head, for obvious reasons, and the Spartans will find a way to win with a smaller lineup.

Lastly, Michigan comes to town looking to take down the Spartans just like football, but that won’t be the case as the Spartans put the beatdown on the Wolverines.

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