Michigan State basketball is staying on the road on Tuesday night to complete a two-game West Coast swing against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.
The 10 p.m. ET game on Peacock will be a critical one for the Spartans' Big Ten title hopes because a win keeps them ahead of Purdue and Michigan in the conference standings while a loss evens them up after having a two-game lead heading into this West Coast trip.
Let's get bold ahead of this big-time matchup with UCLA.
1. Jaden Akins finally has best game since Washington
It feels like Jaden Akins hasn't had a solid game in weeks and that's because he really hasn't. The senior guard from Farmington, Mich., hasn't scored 20 points in a game since he did so against Washington on Jan. 9 and that's just too long of a drought for the team's leading scorer.
Akins will finally have his best game of Big Ten play on Tuesday night against one of the better defenses Michigan State will see all year.
The senior guard will step up to score 22 points with five rebounds and two steals, leading Michigan State's offense on the road.
2. Three bench players score in double figures
If there's one category in which Michigan State has dominated this year, it's bench scoring. The Spartans are legitimately 10 players deep and all five guys who come off the bench regularly can score in double figures each time out.
Three of them will hit the 10-point mark on Tuesday.
Who will it be? I'm going with Coen Carr, Jase Richardson, and Xavier Booker with Frankie Fidler having a solid game on both ends to complement these three.
3. Michigan State picks up a huge win
UCLA has won five straight games, including wins over ranked opponents in Wisconsin and Oregon and the Bruins have only lost one home game all season (that was to Michigan). I think Tuesday night marks the Bruins' second home loss as the state of Michigan completes the sweep at Pauley Pavilion.
After losing their first two games of the season, Michigan State bounced back immediately with a win and I think that becomes three times on Tuesday.
Michigan State will battle back from an early deficit to take a slim lead at the half and the final 20 minutes will be back and forth, but the Spartans eke this one out, 71-68.