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Michigan State Basketball: Preview, prediction vs. Oakland in Week 6

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 9: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans handles the ball defended by Dre Marin #4 of the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at Breslin Center on December 9, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 9: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans handles the ball defended by Dre Marin #4 of the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at Breslin Center on December 9, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball will take on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Saturday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Here’s what you need to know.

The annual Michigan State versus Oakland basketball matchup is upon us and the Spartans may be better than Greg Kampe has seen. The Grizzlies come into the matchup with a 6-4 record and a recent loss to Eastern Michigan and the Spartans are 9-1 and ranked No. 2 in the country.

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Michigan State was jumped by Villanova in the Week 6 polls to be the No. 1 team, but Tom Izzo and the Spartans aren’t too worried about that. They know just as well as anyone that the rankings don’t matter in December and the only important thing right now is getting into Big Ten play unscathed — outside of a Duke loss.

Oakland is led by some solid in-state talent as well as Illinois-transfer Kendrick Nunn who may miss the game due to injury. If he plays, the entire game changes.

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s Michigan State vs. Oakland game:

Date: Saturday, Dec. 16
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Detroit, Mich.
Venue: Little Caesars Arena
TV: ESPNU
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to victory

Michigan State must neutralize the scoring attack from Nunn, Jalen Hayes and Martez Walker. Those three players average a combined 62 points per game and when held in check, it will force other non-ideal scoring options to step up. Taking those three out of the game and having guys like Josh Langford, Cassius Winston and someone from off the bench step up would force the Golden Grizzlies into an uncomfortable position, already having to worry about Jaren Jackson Jr., Nick Ward and Miles Bridges.

On top of that, protecting the ball will be important. The Spartans can’t be careless with the rock in their hands and having a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio for the game would be a huge victory. That would almost ensure a big victory for the green and white.

Oakland players to watch

The Golden Grizzlies have three main scorers and outside of that, there is only one other player who averages more than 6.0 points per game. The Spartans will need to keep an eye on the “big three”, if healthy, along with one or two more potential scoring options.

  • Kendrick Nunn — 21.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals, 39% 3-point FG
  • Martez Walker — 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 50% FG shooting, 39% 3-point FG
  • Jalen Hayes — 19.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 50% FG shooting
  • Nick Daniels — 9.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 37% 3-point FG

Three of the top four scorers can light it up from long-range and that should worry the Spartans as they’ve struggle in terms of perimeter defense.

Next: MSU Basketball: Game-by-game predictions for December

Prediction

Oakland isn’t a bad team, by any means. Despite their record, the Grizzlies are competitive and always seem to play the Spartans tough. This year will be no different as the game will be close for the first half, maybe even back-and-forth, and the Spartans will find a way to pull away late thanks to some big 3-pointers from Josh Langford, Cassius Winston and Matt McQuaid. The defense will allow over 65 points for the first time in eight games, but the offense will counter with a 91-point showing.

Final Score: Oakland 72, Michigan State 91

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