After suffering its first loss of the season to No. 4 Duke a week earlier, Michigan State basketball held on for what happened to be a thrilled in Happy Valley against an 8-2 Penn State team.
The Spartans needed all 40 minutes to hang on against the Nittany Lions on the road, and that was because the defense just wasn’t up to par. Tom Izzo also wasn’t pleased with all of the missed layups as someone brought up in his post-game presser that his team as 6-for-18 on bunnies.
Still, a win’s a win and Izzo can’t be too upset with a 9-1 start to the year and a top-10 ranking after being tabbed as the sixth-best team in the Big Ten before the season tipped off.
Following this 2-0 start to Big Ten play, Michigan State will have a few non-conference games left to finish out the month of December, and that starts on Tuesday night against Toledo. The Rockets are just 5-5 on the season and 1-2 on the road while Michigan State is looking to bounce back from its first home loss (and overall loss) two Saturdays ago.
It’s time for some bold predictions for this Big Ten vs. MAC showdown.
1. MSU remains hot from 3-point range
Over the past five games, the only time the Spartans shot under 36 percent from 3-point range was against Iowa, and that happened to be a 19-point home win.
That trend is going to continue on Tuesday.
Michigan State was just 10-for-18 from deep against Penn State, and Divine Ugochukwu played a big role in that 56 percent shooting rate. He’s going to remain hot, as well as the rest of the team, as the Spartans shoot over 40 percent from deep once again on Tuesday night. Actually, I’ll go one step further and predict a 50-plus percent shooting night from 3-point range — I’m going 11-for-21.
2. Coen Carr breaks mini slump with a double-double
What are the chances that Coen Carr finishes with his first double-double of the season against Toledo? Not great, but that’s why these are called bold predictions.
Carr has been on a mini slump over the past two games, struggling against Duke and then ghosting against Penn State. He’s a combined 5-for-17 over the past two games with 13 points and eight rebounds, and that’s just not going to cut it if Michigan State wants to contend for anything this season — he needs to be much better. And he knows it.
We’ll see a much more motivated and hungry Carr on Tuesday night, and he’s going to be much more aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. Carr will finish with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with two blocks and a steal in a huge bounce-back from his mini two-game skid.
3. Cam Ward has his best game since Arkansas
Usually I reserve this third spot for a prediction on the spread and if Michigan State will cover, but that’s not bold enough for a game against Toledo. It’s really not ever that bold unless I’m predicting an upset, so I decided to audible and go with another player prediction.
Cam Ward is going to have his best game since the Arkansas win. In that game, he recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds which were both career-highs, but the freshman is going to have a similar stat line against Toledo off the bench on Tuesday night.
Ward has been quiet for a few games thanks to a wrist injury and some rusty play against Duke and Penn State in just 15 total minutes. He’s ready to get back out there at full-strength.
Izzo is going to unleash him on the Rockets on Tuesday, and he’s going to respond with 15 points and nine rebounds in a huge performance off the bench to remind fans that he’s still here.