The annual Izzone alumni game is one of the best events of the year for Michigan State basketball because it feels like the former students always give the team a little extra juice. While the Izzone has been much better in recent years, the alumni Izzone always seems to bring it.
Fortunately this year is a rare one for the Izzone alumni event. The Spartans had the alumni Izzone in place on Monday and now they get a second game with the older Spartan fans on Thursday.
The Breslin Center will be rocking on Thursday night as the alumni Izzone gets a round two with a Big Ten opponent in town.
This time, it’s Northwestern.
And it’s time to get bold.
1. MSU holds Nick Martinelli to Big Ten low in scoring
Nick Martinelli is a special talent for Northwestern. He’s averaging 23 points per game, but he’s also shooting near 60 percent from the field. He’s one of the scariest offensive threats in the conference, but Michigan State is going to lock him down defensively.
My guess is that we’re going to see a lot of Coen Carr guarding the 6-foot-7 forward, but we’ll also see Jordan Scott and Cam Ward come in to help out.
Martinelli’s season-low in scoring is nine points against Virginia back in November, but his Big Ten low is 14 which he scored against Wisconsin on Dec. 3.
Michigan State is going to hold him to under 14. A game after silencing Chad Baker-Mataram (a 20-point-per-game scorer), the Spartans will hold Martinelli to 12 points.
2. Jaxon Kohler has a 15/15 game
We all know that Jaxon Kohler is a double-double machine, but it’s much harder to reach that next level which would be a 15/15 game or even a 20/10 game.
Kohler has had two such games this season, but he’s ready to make that a third against a mediocre rebounding team like Northwestern. Teams that aren’t as tough on the glass usually have a nightmare of a time against Kohler, and he’s going to eat, grabbing 16 rebounds while scoring 18 points.
Unfortunately, he will miss his first shots since the Nebraska loss.
3. MSU wins by 30 again
If you’ve followed Michigan State’s success in alumni games over the years, it’s incredible how well the team plays when the former students are in the Izzone.
Michigan State almost always covers in Izzone alumni games, and Thursday’s spread seems kind of modest for a team that just lost to Minnesota at home five days ago. The Spartans are fresh off a 29-point win over a team that was ranked a week ago, and Northwestern won’t be able to do much without Martinelli dominating.
The Spartans are 12.5-point favorites, but they’re about to win by 30 again, marking the third double-digit win in Big Ten play already.