Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. Southern Indiana

Well, the season opener didn’t go quite as planned for Michigan State basketball. After getting some quality experience in an exhibition against Tennessee the week earlier, the Spartans came out flat against James Madison and were forced to play catch-up all game.

That led to a 79-76 shocking loss in overtime.

Now Michigan State must figure out what went wrong in a hurry. This is the Spartans’ last game before facing Duke on Tuesday in the Champions Classic.

Let’s get bold for the Southern Indiana game.

3. AJ Hoggard records a double-double

After seeing what will hopefully be his worst game of the year on Monday, AJ Hoggard is going to bounce back with a much better performance on Thursday against Southern Indiana.

Hoggard was horrible offensively on Monday, scoring just nine points with three assists, but he shot 2-for-11 from the floor and had four fouls. He was playing way too passively and even when he did shoot, nearly half of his attempts were from 3-point range. While he may have improved his shooting, that’s not what he’s best at.

We’ll see Hoggard showcase that aggressiveness and drive to the hoop early and often to the tune of 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting with a three and some free throws as well.

On top of that, he’s going to show why he’s one of the best passers in the nation, dishing 11 assists against the Screaming Eagles (great nickname).