Michigan State Basketball: 3 bold predictions for battle at No. 23 Ohio State

Michigan State basketball will be on the road for a second straight game, hoping to avoid another two-game losing streak against No. 23 Ohio State.

Michigan State is hoping to add to its NCAA Tournament resume on Thursday night with a huge road battle against No. 23 Ohio State.

While the Buckeyes are slumping after two straight losses to Big Ten bottom-dwellers, Michigan State is also trending in the wrong direction after a blowout loss at Michigan.

One of these teams will end a slump on Thursday night.

What can we expect from Thursday’s big game?

3. We see a more aggressive Malik Hall

Tom Izzo kind of laid into Malik Hall following the Spartans’ last loss to Michigan, saying that he’s been disappointed with the team’s leadership and his junior forward can be dominant and then disappear. Basically, he said that Hall is an enigma.

Hearing those words should be motivation for the junior captain. He’s more than capable of putting up big numbers and has done so on multiple occasions this year. He’ll do so again on Thursday night.

Hall will have a tough matchup, likely seeing EJ Liddell when he’s on the floor, but he’ll hold his own and score 15 points, looking for his shot more often.

If Michigan State is going to pull off the upset, Hall needs to be on top of his game, and he will be.