Remember the last time Michigan State basketball faced off against Oregon? The Spartans found themselves down 14 at halftime, down two players as Jeremy Fears Jr. and Xavier Booker were out due to an illness.
It felt like all was lost and the Spartans' skid would continue after an 0-2 West Coast swing. But Jase Richardson dominated in his first-ever start, scoring a career-high 29 points in a comeback win.
Now Michigan State will get a rematch with the Ducks and the Spartans will be at full-strength this time. Since that loss, Oregon has won eight straight games with victories over teams like Wisconsin, Indiana (twice), Iowa, and USC. They've been on fire, but Michigan State has, too.
This will be a heck of a third-round matchup for the Spartans and another opportunity to secure a Quad 1 win -- it would be the Spartans' eighth straight.
Let's get bold.
1. Jase Richardson encore
The first time Jase Richardson faced Oregon, he dropped a career-high 29 points in his first-ever start. Since then, he's been on a heater. He's been one of the best players in the Big Ten for a month and he was just named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Once again, he'll play like a first-team All-Big Ten star on Friday, dropping 20-plus points for the fourth time in the past month as he steals the show.
Richardson will finish with 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
2. Three-point party?
I get it, Michigan State is not one of the best shooting teams in the country nor are they even considered "average" when it comes to shooting the three, but the Spartans have been much better in recent weeks. While there have been a couple of games of mediocre shooting recently, Michigan State has been shooting somewhere around 34 percent from deep for weeks.
That will improve yet again on Friday afternoon as the Spartans show that the four-day break did them some good as they light up the scoreboard early on from deep.
Michigan State will finish with a season-high 15 threes thanks to a heavy barrage from Jaden Akins, Richardson, Tre Holloman, and even Xavier Booker off the bench.
3. Three double-digit scorers off the bench
First off, I'm going to predict a Michigan State win here and I don't think that's quite bold enough so I'm going to save it for just a quick mention.
Second, I think we're going to see a big game from the bench. Three guys who come off the bench will score in double figures on Friday as Coen Carr, Frankie Fidler, and Tre Holloman all have solid games, giving Oregon's lack of depth some issues.
Why does Michigan State seem to pull away in second halves? The depth just wears teams down. This will be further proof of that as these three guys combine for 36 points in a winning effort.