Michigan State basketball will take the court on Tuesday night against Samford at the Breslin Center and the Spartans are hoping for a much better performance than the one we saw on Saturday night when Bowling Green came to town.
The Spartans made just 20 percent of their 3-point attempts which dropped them to last place in college basketball, making just 16-for-80 on the year.
Samford, on the other hand, is making about 35 percent of its shots from deep which could be a problem for the Spartans if they can't figure it out. They have a team full of shooters from Jaden Akins and Frankie Fidler to Jase Richardson and Tre Holloman. This team should be able to light it up from long range, but that has yet to be the case.
Let's hope they snap out of it on Tuesday night. Let's get bold.
1. Jaxon Kohler records his third double-double
If there's been one guy on the team this year that has far exceeded expectations, it would have to be Jaxon Kohler. He's shooting 50 percent from the floor this season and 91 percent from the line, averaging 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He looks like a completely different player.
On Tuesday, he's going to record his third double-double in the first five games, scoring 14 points with 11 rebounds and he'll even hit a couple of threes.
2. Jaden Akins has his best game of the season
After being a ghost against Kansas, Jaden Akins bounced back against Bowling Green on Saturday night, scoring 13 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. He also added six assists as he was legitimately flirting with a triple-double.
Instead of showcasing more inconsistency like he would in years past after a bounce-back game, he's going to stay hot and have his best game of the season.
Akins will score 24 points with eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block and he'll be 3-for-5 from 3-point range on the night.
3. Michigan State finally plays a well-rounded game
Through four games, Michigan State hasn't been able to shoot the ball that well and when it does shoot well (it hasn't happened from distance yet), it struggles with turnovers or defending the perimeter. Well, the Spartans will be firing on all cylinders on Tuesday night, playing its best overall game of the season against a red-hot opponent.
Michigan State will hold a Samford team that's averaging 97 points per game under 70 and it'll make at least 35 percent of its shots from deep to bring that season average up.
The Spartans will play elite defense, a much more efficient offense, rebound well, and capitalize on fast-break opportunities to win comfortably 84-63 on Tuesday night.