Michigan State Basketball: Staff score predictions vs. Northwestern in Game 7

Michigan State basketball opens conference play on Sunday evening against Northwestern. Will the Spartans remain undefeated?

Who thought we would finally be approaching Big Ten action after the offseason and non-conference slate we’ve gone through? Michigan State has done a great job managing COVID-19 and that’s a big reason why they didn’t have to cancel any of their non-conference games (Virginia cancelled one).

The Spartans head into conference play with a 6-0 record, sitting at No. 4 in the AP Top 25. They’ll need to beat a 3-1 Northwestern team on Sunday night to remain atop the conference.

Northwestern has been somewhat surprising this season because, well, it can actually put points on the board. In fact, the Wildcats average over 93 points per game this season — granted, they have played mostly irrelevant teams. Still, it could be an issue for MSU to open Big Ten play.

What does our staff think of Sunday night’s Big Ten opener?

Connor Muldowney: Michigan State hasn’t put together a complete game all season, especially on the defensive end, and I think that changes on Sunday. I do believe the Wildcats are better than they were a year ago and they always put up a good fight against the Spartans, but Michigan State’s depth will wear Northwestern down. Hopefully there’s no Boo Buie magic this time around.

Final Score: Michigan State 75, Northwestern 66

Carter Landis: Northwestern is a team that no matter the talent level, they are going to compete. They take care of the basketball and they shoot a lot of threes. They’ll do the best they can to make it a close game, but they won’t pull it off.

Final Score: Michigan State 72, Northwestern 61

Jack Williams: We’re still waiting for a complete game from the Spartans. They won’t play a perfect game against Northwestern, but they’ll do enough to get a comfortable win on the back of Rocket Watts. With this win, MSU will establish itself as the team to beat in the Big Ten.

Final Score: Michigan State 83, Northwestern 66

Stephen Robb: Julius Marble needs to play more and this needs to be the game coach Tom Izzo does it. Izzo has wanted to see what he has however the rotation needs to solidify. MSU blows out this hapless Northwestern team.

Final Score: Michigan State 88, Northwestern 65