Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. No. 2 Marquette

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Mar 17, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard A.J. Hoggard (11) lobs a pass over USC Trojans forward Joshua Morgan (24) during the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus DispatchBasketball Ncaa Men S Basketball Tournament /

2. AJ Hoggard finishes with a double-double

With Tyson Walker shooting the ball well and Marquette’s aggressive defense over-pursuing on some steal attempts, AJ Hoggard is going to rack up the assists on Sunday.

The junior point guard played really well against USC, finishing with 11 points, five assists, and just turnovers. He’s going to have an even better game against the better team in Marquette, putting up 13 points with 11 assists and he’ll even chip in a few big rebounds.

Michigan State plays its best when Hoggard is locked in and aggressive and I think we’re going to see him playing at a high level for a second game in a row.

Hoggard is the leader of this team and he knows he’ll need to be the driving force if Michigan State is going to pull off this second-round upset of Marquette. The Golden Eagles haven’t quite seen a point guard like him, so he’ll be tough to handle and he’ll use that to his (and MSU’s) advantage.

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