Michigan State Basketball: Staff score predictions vs. UCLA in Vegas Invitational
Is optimism creeping into our staff during the holiday season? It sure looks that way heading into Michigan State basketball’s matchup with UCLA.
Michigan State is aiming to get its first win over a ranked team on Thursday night as the Spartans head to Las Vegas to face the No. 17 UCLA Bruins.
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It won’t be an easy task as the Bruins have plenty of talent, led by former Spartan recruiting target Kris Wilkes. He’s averaging a team-high 17.5 points per game while the Spartans have three players in double figures — the ‘big three’ of Nick Ward, Josh Langford and Cassius Winston.
Thursday’s game will be a perfect test for this team, but will they be able to take care of the Bruins? The talent and depth may be too much for the Bruins to handle.
What does our staff think will happen on Thanksgiving night?
Connor Muldowney: This one is difficult to predict because we just don’t know exactly what the Bruins have to offer with no quality matchups through four games. However, I do believe they’re going to have a tough time guarding Nick Ward in the post and he’s going to finish with a double-double and Josh Langford will break 20 points for the first time this season. Michigan State continues the trend of trimmed turnovers while the Bruins will make it interesting before the Spartans pull away in the end.
Final Score: UCLA 71, Michigan State 81
Ryan Kay: UCLA is 4-0 and ranked 17th nationally and they score nearly 90 a game however they are a good matchup for the Spartans. They’re not a deep team as they only play eight guys significant minutes. Michigan State has depth and can wear down the Bruins. They like to play fast which plays into the hands of the Spartans because if they want to get into a foot race with Winston, Langford and Co. it will be very beneficial for the Spartans.
Michigan State has been tested versus Kansas but UCLA’s most difficult opponent so far in comparison is Long Beach State who put up 80 on the Bruins. This game will be a 15-point victory for the green and white as they more than likely will play North Carolina in the championship game in Vegas.
Final Score: UCLA 75, Michigan State 90
Justin Thind: UCLA is a team that hasn’t played much competition so far this year. They’ve won all four of their games and all of them by double-digits. The Bruins are a very deep team with a lot of contributors. That is what makes them scary. For example, seven of the nine players that played for UCLA in their win against Long Beach had double-digit points. So while they’re led by Jaylen Hands and Kris Wilkes, this team doesn’t have much of a drop-off as you go down the rotation.
When the regular season is all wrapped up, the Bruins could easily wind up as a top-three seed heading into March Madness.
To win this game, the Spartans are going to need to limit turnovers and make their free throws at the very least. On top of that, they’re gonna need several different players to have big games to beat a team as balanced as UCLA. Strong efforts from two guys won’t be enough. Nick Ward and Cassius Winston will play as well as they have been playing so far this year, but with Langford and McQuaid finally joining them and contributing 15 points each this game, it should be the comprehensive offensive performance we’ve been looking for this year.
Throw in solid contributions from Goins, Tillman and Henry and the Spartans should take this one.
Final Score: UCLA 83, Michigan State 88
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Stephen Robb: Before the season began, UCLA looked like a team to fear however injuries have hit this team hard. They lost prized commit and son of Shaquille O’Neal, Shareef O’Neal. Then they lost another prized freshman in Tyler Campbell. They most recently lost Cody Riley a solid bench player to an injured jaw. That stated MSU needs to be careful of 7-foot-1 Moses Brown. He is force on the inside. Also Jaylen Hands a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard has picked up the scoring. It’s a winnable game for the Spartans.
Final Score: UCLA 68, Michigan State 73