Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions vs. Houston Baptist

Just two days removed from a tough win over Oakland, Michigan State basketball hosts a reeling Houston Baptist team.

Michigan State is coming off an emotional win over in-state foe Oakland on Saturday afternoon and will welcome Houston Baptist (4-7) to Breslin Center on Monday night. Tom Izzo will have his team ready on short rest, but this isn’t anything new to the Spartans this season.

The Spartans will look to improve to 11-1 on the season and beat down an inferior opponent by a wide margin. Michigan State plays down to opponents quite often, but will Monday night’s game be a different story?

This is a good opportunity for Michigan State to gain some confidence heading into the final stretch before Big Ten play.

What exactly will happen on Monday night between Michigan State and Houston Baptist?

5. Houston Baptist will be extremely stifled by MSU defense

Houston Baptist averages 84 points per game and it’s going to be tough for the Spartans to hold this team under 70 points, but this defense has the ability to do just that.

Looking at the numbers, not many teams have broken 70 on Michigan State this year and the Spartans had a seven-game stretch of holding teams under 65 points. However, Oakland dropped 73 on Michigan State and the Spartans’ defense looked human again.

That won’t happen on Monday as Houston Baptist will struggle to crack the scoring column early and it will have just 25 points at halftime, shooting under 30 percent from the floor.

Struggles will continue in the second half as the Spartans will hold the Huskies to just 58 points and the 3-point shooting will also be an issue for Houston Baptist. Just 58 points and a 32 percent shooting rate from the floor? Not bad defense for a team coming off a shaky performance.