Wake up, Spartan fans, it's game day. For the second week in a row, Michigan State basketball has a Saturday Big Ten battle away from home and it's aiming to have the same result as last weekend.
A week ago, Michigan State went to Madison Square Garden and picked up an 81-74 win over Rutgers. This weekend, it's a date with USC in Los Angeles that will take center stage. Tom Izzo will lead his team into battle with one of the newcomers in the conference and the Trojans have been playing much better in recent weeks.
This is a Quad 1 opportunity for Michigan State and it needs to remain focused in order to pick up the big win.
Let's dive into some bold predictions.
1. Michigan State wins the rebound battle by 15-plus again
Michigan State took advantage of a poor rebounding Minnesota team on Tuesday and the Spartans will do so again on Saturday against a USC team that's one of the worst in that category in the Big Ten.
Jaxon Kohler and Szymon Zapala will dominate on the glass again and we'll see the guards crash the boards, too, leading to a 15-plus rebound advantage over USC.
We're going to see a classic Tom Izzo performance on the glass.
2. Xavier Booker builds on Minnesota performance
Xavier Booker looked really good against Minnesota on Tuesday night and it felt like he was getting back to being the player we all expected at the start of the season (and especially after the North Carolina game). He scored in double figures for the first time in a month and a half and he's going to record his second straight 10-plus-point game on Saturday.
Booker will come off the bench for 14 points with six rebounds and two big blocks to help patrol the paint for Michigan State. He'll end his long drought from 3-point range as he's gone just 1-for-21 in his past nine games -- he'll make three.
3. Michigan State covers
With a perfect chance for a Quad 1 win against USC, Michigan State will step up and beat the Trojans on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, marking their first win over the Trojans since the 2023 NCAA Tournament when the Spartans made the Sweet 16.
The spread for this one is sitting at 4.5 in favor of the Spartans and I think Vegas is slightly underestimating this team. It's thrived on the road in the Big Ten this season and I think that'll continue.
Michigan State wins this one and covers that spread, and then some, 80-73.