Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. improved Nebraska team

Michigan State basketball returns to Big Ten action on Tuesday night for its first game of 2023 against a much-improved Nebraska team in East Lansing.

The Spartans are 9-4 on the year after winning four straight games and they might just be hitting their stride after a two-game slide at the end of November and early December against Notre Dame and Northwestern.

Nebraska, on the other hand, is 8-6 but has a win over Creighton and took Purdue to overtime. Fred Hoiberg has the Cornhuskers playing their best basketball in years,

Will the Spartans take care of business on Tuesday night with the alumni Izzone in attendance?

3. AJ Hoggard dishes more than 10 assists

AJ Hoggard is fresh off a double-double against Buffalo which was his second of the season and first since the Villanova game back on Nov. 18. He’ll add another to that list on Tuesday.

Hoggard has been really smart with the ball since turning it over five times against Portland in the PKI, coughing it up more than two times just once in that span which happened to be the next game against Notre Dame as he had three. Since then, he’s been at two, at most, and it’s been good for a 4-1 assist-to-turnover ratio since the Notre Dame loss.

That hot streak is going to continue against a solid defensive team in Nebraska as he’ll dish a season-high 11 assists to go along with 11 points and just two turnovers.