Michigan State Basketball: 3 bold predictions for season-opener vs. EMU

Michigan State basketball opens its season on Wednesday evening against Eastern Michigan. What can we expect from this one?

After the longest offseason any college basketball fan has been used to, Wednesday marks the official start of the 2020-21 season. Michigan State fans are more than ready.

In fact, the Spartans felt cheated after the NCAA Tournament was cancelled in 2019-20 because they were playing their best basketball at the perfect time and it was Cassius Winston’s final chance at winning a national title. There’s a solid team returning to East Lansing, however, led by Joshua Langford and Aaron Henry.

Eastern Michigan comes to Breslin Center on Wednesday night as a major underdog. The Eagles were 9-1 when they faced Michigan State last season but the Spartans dismantled them in East Lansing by 53 points.

The Eagles return their leading scorer and bring in four transfers to a team that finished 16-16 overall. Will they pull off the upset to tip off the season?

3. MSU struggles in the first half

We’ve heard what Dwayne Stephens had to say about offseason, applauding the team and the coaching staff, stating that the Spartans are more prepared than most teams at this point.

But, like all top programs, the Spartans didn’t get their warm-up games with two exhibitions and that’s going to show in the first 20 minutes. I’m not saying Eastern will hold a halftime lead, but the Eagles are going to take advantage of a rusty Michigan State team without a clear starter at point or center yet.

Michigan State will be bricking everything and keeping the Eagles in the game longer than it should.