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Michigan State Basketball: Binghamton a good tune-up before Seton Hall

By Connor Muldowney

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 05: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans controls the ball in the second half of their game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 05: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans controls the ball in the second half of their game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
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After losing to Kentucky and not playing a great game, Michigan State basketball can use Sunday’s Binghamton matchup as a tune-up.

Things didn’t go quite as planned for Michigan State in the Champions Classic against No. 2 Kentucky, but the Spartans get a chance to tune things up against Binghamton before traveling to face Seton Hall next week.

Losing to Kentucky hurt, but Tom Izzo admitted that his team has a lot of things to work on, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. He stated that the Spartans are going to get a lot better and he’s right. This team played nowhere near its potential and relied too heavily upon Cassius Winston who led the team with 21 points.

There were some bright spots outside of Winston, though, such as Marcus Bingham Jr. who surpassed early expectations as well as Aaron Henry who finished with nine points.

Guys like Xavier Tillman, Rocket Watts and Malik Hall didn’t have great games, but there’s an opportunity to gain some confidence against a Binghamton team that finished just 10-23 a year ago. Under head coach Tommy Dempsey, the Bearcats haven’t won more than 10 games and the program has made just one NCAA Tournament appearance (2009) in its history.

Binghamton is 0-1 as well, but the Bearcats lost by 20 points at Cornell. This one shouldn’t be close.

Here’s how you can watch online:

Date: Sunday, Nov. 10
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Venue: Breslin Center
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: FOX Sports Go

Keys to Victory

Obviously leaning on Cassius Winston will only provide positive results, as long as it’s not completely relying on him, but ball movement is key. The Spartans didn’t have many assists against Kentucky, but as long as Cassius, Henry and Watts can get down the lane and either kick it out or slip it to an open man at the hoop, it’ll open up the floor. It’ll force the Binghamton defense to respect the perimeter and not collapse and that way they can get one-on-ones.

On the other side of the floor, forcing everything outside is always the smartest decision. Even if Binghamton is a solid shooting team, you want them to take the low percentage shots and dominate the post.

Betting Odds

Courtesy of The Action Network

Line: Michigan State -35
Over/Under: 140

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Prediction

This one shouldn’t be all that close. The Spartans may get off to a slow start shooting the ball from deep, but they’ll settle into a groove and finish with a big-time win, covering the 35-point spread. Winston will finish with 16 points and 11 assists while Tillman has a double-double as well. Watts will score his first points as a Spartan and Hall will, too. It’ll be a confidence-boosting game all around.

Final Score: Binghamton 51, Michigan State 90

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