Michigan State basketball: 5 bold predictions for 2022-23 season

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Michigan State’s A.J. Hoggard celebrates after Joey Hauser’s 3-pointer against Indiana during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.220212 Msu Indiana Bball 127a /

3. AJ Hoggard leads the Big Ten assists

AJ Hoggard finished last season fourth in the Big Ten in assists with 4.9 per game. Two guys who finished ahead of him (Xavier Johnson and Paul Mulcahy) return this season after averaging over five assists per game.

But I think Hoggard is going to surpass both of those guys and run away with the Big Ten assist title this season.

What makes me so sure? Well, Hoggard played the least amount of minutes than any one of the top 10 assisters in the Big Ten last year. Tyson Walker was a close second in limited action but top 10 in assists. Hoggard averaged 20.2 minutes per game and Johnson was at 27.6 while Mulcahy was all the way up at 31.7. And yet Hoggard only averaged 0.1 fewer than Johnson and 0.4 fewer than Mulcahy.

Hoggard is going to play much more this season and probably approach the 30 minutes per game range. If that’s the case, he will likely average over 6-7 per game and pace the conference.

We’re going to see him rise to stardom this year.

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