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Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions vs. UCLA in Las Vegas Invitational

By Connor Muldowney

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 06: Tom Izzo the head coach talks with Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 06: Tom Izzo the head coach talks with Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball opens the 2018 Las Vegas Invitational with a battle against No. 17 UCLA. What can we expect to see?

After losing to Kansas in the opener, there were some questions surrounding Michigan State basketball. First, could this team put together a full game on the offensive side of the ball? Second, could they play defense and cut down turnovers? And third, would foul trouble continue to be an issue?

Three games later, those questions haven’t been completely answered as the season is a marathon, not a sprint, but we are closer to knowing the answers.

Michigan State’s offense has been on fire lately, the defense has improved and turnovers have been cut essentially in half. Fouls will always be an issue with this aggressive Tom Izzo-led defense, but this team is looking good heading into the Las Vegas Invitational on Thursday evening.

Let’s get bold ahead of Michigan State’s ranked battle with UCLA.

5. Spartans will finish with less than 10 turnovers — again

What if I told you that Michigan State is averaging just 7.5 turnovers per game over the past two contests after approaching 20 in the first two games of the year? Tom Izzo’s teams have been known for coughing the ball up 15-20 times per game and that was actually one of the biggest knocks against the Spartans last year.

Well, Michigan State has been better with the ball over the past two games, making clean passes and smart decisions. You’re not often going to see an ill-advised alley-oop attempt on breakaways anymore as these guys don’t quite have the pieces for that, but also because they’ve been smarter with the ball.

This trend will continue against UCLA on Thursday night.

The Bruins force an average of 13.5 turnovers per game while Michigan State records about 12.3 per game which is good for a top-100 mark. The Spartans have been much better at cutting down those unforced turnovers and they’ll have another big game in that regard to get their confidence up.

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