Michigan State Basketball: 3 bold predictions for crucial battle at Maryland

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 20: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to Rocket Watts #2 during the 78-71 win over the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 20, 2021 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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Michigan State forward Joey Hauser (20) celebrates a play in the second half against Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, in East Lansing. The Spartans won, 71-67.Msuvsohiostate /

2. Rocket Watts and Joey Hauser finally play well in same game

I said over a month ago that the key to a Michigan State turnaround this season would be Joey Hauser and Rocket Watts figuring things out and playing well at the same time. Both guys are polarizing players for the Spartans and when they have good games, Michigan State is usually very hard to beat.

The problem here is that they’ve rarely had good games at the same time. It’s usually one guy scoring 10-plus points and the other shooting 1-for-10 from the floor.

When both play poorly, Michigan State is likely ending up with a big loss.

Against Maryland, both are going to show up and provide a nice shot in the arm for the offense. Watts will use his defense to give him some confidence on the other end of the floor, scoring 11 points with two big threes. He played well at Maryland in a big win last season and he’s not going to shy away from College Park this year.

Hauser is starting to get some of his confidence back as well. He scored 13 points against Illinois and hit a big three and free throws to help beat Ohio State. That’s a start.

Both will hit double figures in the scoring column on Sunday and turnovers will be limited.

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