Michigan State Basketball: Game-by-game predictions for December 2020

December features a handful of non-conference opponents as well as three Big Ten foes for Michigan State basketball. How will the Spartans fare?

Off to a 2-0 start, Michigan State looks like one of the contenders in the Big Ten and nationally yet again, even getting a five-spot bump in the Week 2 rankings to No. 8.

Not only do the Spartans look the part, they are gearing up for some prove-it games against Duke and Virginia. They have one of the best defenses in the country even though that may not be depicted by the points allowed through two games, but the Spartans have been getting their backups and walk-ons into the game late while up big.

Now they enter the month of December with lofty expectations and three top-15 teams on the schedule. How will they fare?

Duke isn’t quite as polished as some of the previous Blue Devil squads that have given Michigan State fits and they’re young with both Tre Jones and Vernon Carey gone. This is a winnable game for the Spartans and I think they’re clicking enough right now on both ends of the court and they’ll maintain that motivation throughout the second half to pull off a big road win.

It’s going to go down to the wire no matter what, though, because we’ve seen the Spartans in foul trouble in each of the first two games.

Final Score: Michigan State 75, Duke 72 (3-0)

After picking up a top-10 win on the road, Michigan State will be flying high but it’ll have to be careful not to overlook a team like Detroit Mercy with an elite scorer like Antoine Davis.

Davis can score 20-30 points with relative ease so the Spartans will need someone like Rocket Watts, Joshua Langford or Aaron Henry shadowing him all game. If they can hold him to 15-20 points, this should be an easy win for the green and white.

Final Score: Detroit 63, Michigan State 81 (4-0)