Michigan State Basketball: 3 bold predictions for Rutgers rematch

Michigan State basketball finally gets back to action on Thursday night against Rutgers and it’ll be a tough test for the green and white.

No one thought Michigan State would be in a position to need a road win over Rutgers in late-January in order to strengthen its NCAA Tournament resume, but here we are.

Michigan State is 8-4 overall with a 2-4 mark in Big Ten play and the Spartans are one second-half meltdown away from being 9-3 overall and 3-3 in conference action but they couldn’t seem to put away Purdue in the last game they played in mid-January. Two weeks have passed since their last game, but the Spartans return to action on Thursday night at Rutgers hoping for better luck.

Will Michigan State take care of the Scarlet Knights for the second time this month?

3. Joey Hauser records a double-double

If everything goes as planned and Joey Hauser lives up to his potential on both ends of the court, he could be a walking double-double. We’ve actually seen him record four double-doubles this season and come close on other numerous occasions. If Michigan State wants to turn the season around, Hauser is going to need to be a double-double machine.

That’ll happen on Thursday night as he answers the call with a couple of important teammates out.

Hauser will have a decent offensive game, scoring 14 points, but he’s going to grab 10 rebounds and finish with his first double-double since Dec. 13 against Oakland. Michigan State is 4-0 when he records such a feat so this will be a good sign for the Spartans.

Tom Izzo desperately needs Hauser to step his game up in the coming weeks. He’ll answer that call against Rutgers.