Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions for January 2018

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EAST LANSING, MI – DECEMBER 31: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans during the game against the Savannah State Tigers at Breslin Center on December 31, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

3. Nick Ward averages a double-double

If there’s one player on the team that has been skyrocketing toward superstardom in recent weeks, it’s Nick Ward. The 6-foot-8 sophomore forward from Gahanna, Ohio, has put the Rutgers debacle behind him and is playing the best basketball of his young career.

Don’t believe me? Look at the numbers. Ward is shooting 94 percent (32-of-34) over the past four games from the floor leading into the second edition of Big Ten play on Jan. 4. He’s been torching teams in the post and there hasn’t been a single opponent who has adequately slowed him down this season.

Sure, once Big Ten play begins, he will face tougher competition, but his confidence has already grown so much to this point that he’s basically on an entirely different level. On top of that, he’s been a tremendous rebounder in recent games, making sure no one out-hustles him on the glass.

“I love rebounding,” Ward said after the Cleveland State win. He proved it with 14 rebounds and then he came back to record 10 against Savannah State. Throughout the first month of the 2018 calendar year, Ward is going to average a double-double.

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