Michigan State Basketball: Staff score predictions vs. Ohio State in Week 9
Michigan State will be facing off against Ohio State on Sunday evening in Columbus and our staff believes this could be the closest game yet.
Tom Izzo has potentially his best team yet. The Hall of Fame head coach hasn’t seemed happy much this season following big wins, but it’s because he believes Michigan State (15-1, 3-0 Big Ten) has the potential to be even better.
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Michigan State does have plenty of room to grow and more to prove but the Spartans can knock out two birds with one stone with a victory over Ohio State (12-4, 4-0) on Sunday. The road game will be tough, but the Spartans are talented enough to win any conference game by double-digits, it seems.
What does the Spartan Avenue staff think about the outcome of Sunday’s game?
Connor Muldowney: Michigan State is going to find this one tougher than usual as the Spartans will hit the road for just their second true road game of the year. Tom Izzo will have his guys ready, though, as the Spartans will go into Columbus and steal a huge Big Ten win. Miles Bridges and Cassius Winston will come up clutch and Josh Langford will bounce back from having a rough game against Maryland. Don’t worry, Nick Ward will remain red-hot and score 17 with 10 rebounds.
Final Score: Michigan State 72, Ohio State 69
Stephen Robb: Ohio State represents MSU’s first real Big Ten test. Maryland was plagued by injuries to their stars. Ohio State is 12-4 and Keita Bates-Diop is having a fantastic season averaging over 19 points a game. Also C.J. Jackson is solid at the guard spot. This Buckeye team has excellent upperclassman leadership. The Spartans will need to jump out early to stop this upset minded OSU squad.
Final Score: Michigan State 82, Ohio State 75
Adam Zdroik: Almost out of nowhere, Ohio State has become a competent team and sit undefeated along with MSU at the top of the Big Ten standings. Two of those wins have come on the road, which is even more impressive. The problem is that the Spartans are different than those opponents. Keita Bates-Diop will struggle against Jaren Jackson. Kaleb Wesson and Micah Potter will have trouble against Nick Ward. Then there’s Miles Bridges against Jae’Sean Tate. This one won’t be easy, especially in Columbus. But, I’m not sure the Bucks are deep enough to win this game with guys like Andrew Dakich and Musa Jallow coming off the bench.
Final Score: Michigan State 80, Ohio State 70
Michael Briggs: Michigan State responded well to its first challenge in weeks against Maryland, pulling away late in the first half and never looking back. The Spartans nearly set the school record with 16 three-pointers — even Kenny Goins and Tum Tum Nairn got in on the action — and took good care of the ball.
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MSU will need to do both well again on Sunday in its first road game since playing at Rutgers over a month ago. The Buckeyes are 3-0 in Big Ten play and are talented enough to make this a tough test. That said, Michigan State has been playing some of its best basketball in the past couple games, limiting turnovers, moving the ball around and getting contributions from every player who steps on the court. We won’t see the blowout we’ve been accustomed to seeing from Michigan State since the aforementioned Rutgers game, but it will be a solid win, nonetheless.
Final Score: Michigan State 88, Ohio State 75