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Michigan State basketball continues life without Rocket Watts vs. Oakland

By Connor Muldowney

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 25: Rocket Watts #2 of the Michigan State Spartans drives to the basket during the first half against the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 25, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 25: Rocket Watts #2 of the Michigan State Spartans drives to the basket during the first half against the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 25, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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Playing without Rocket Watts will be a challenge moving forward, but Michigan State basketball must continue that test versus Oakland.

The start Michigan State has gotten off to this season has been less than ideal. It all began with a loss in the Champions Classic to No. 2 Kentucky and then a defeat in Maui at the hands of an average Virginia Tech team followed by a home beatdown by Duke.

Sitting at 6-3 with the rest of December filled with winnable games, Michigan State needs to go on a run in order to get some momentum back before Big Ten play in January.

Oakland would be a good start and a win in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday afternoon would push the Spartans’ winning streak to two and give them some momentum heading into a second Big Ten battle of the season — this one at Northwestern.

The Grizzlies, led by long-time head coach Greg Kampe, haven’t had the best start to the season, either, and they were ravaged with transfers this offseason, including their starting point guard Braden Norris who was one of the Horizon League’s top freshmen last season. They are just 5-5 and have lost 3-of-4 games. They’re offensively-challenged, averaging just 64 points per game.

While this seems like a mismatch, these two teams always seem to play each other tough.

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s game vs. Oakland:

Date: Saturday, Dec. 14
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Detroit, Mich.
Venue: Little Caesars Arena
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

Take some pressure off Cassius Winston. We get it, he’s the Spartans best player and sometimes when he can’t get it going, no one can — and that’s the problem. It’s time for guys like Aaron Henry, Gabe Brown, Tillman and even Malik Hall to step up, score some points and take the load off Winston. If the rest of the offense is perking up, Cassius’ output will just be a cherry on top. This will also be a good way to make sure that the team isn’t too dependent on the senior All-American.

Defensively, getting a body on Xavier Hill-Mais will be critical. He’s Oakland’s best player and was just that a year ago, too. He’s a beast in the post and if Tillman struggles to guard him, he could get whatever he wants down low — and that’s a recipe for disaster. Don’t give him clean looks and don’t allow him to do what Vernon Carey did — get deep before putting a body on him. If the Spartans slow Hill-Mais, Oakland’s offense will sputter.

Next. 5 ways Mark Dantonio can turn the program around in 2020. dark

Prediction

Playing at Oakland without Rocket Watts seems like a daunting task, but this is not one of Kampe’s best teams. It should be a solid battle early on, but the Spartans should be able to mount a double-digit lead by halftime and then just coast in the second half to victory No. 7 on the young season.

Final Score: Michigan State 81, Oakland 63

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