Western Michigan and former Tom Izzo assistant coach Dwayne Stephens will be in East Lansing on Monday afternoon for the conclusion of Michigan State basketball's non-conference slate.
The Spartans (10-2) will host Western Michigan (3-8) looking for their sixth win in a row and a solid end to non-conference play which saw them rise from unranked to No. 18 in the country. The Spartans are one of the hottest teams in college hoops right now and Western Michigan is quite the opposite.
The Broncos, losers of four straight, have yet to play a ranked team and Michigan State could give them their rude awakening.
Let's get bold ahead of Saturday's big non-conference finale.
1. Jaxon Kohler grabs over 10 boards for a fifth straight game
A year ago, I remember complaining that Jaxon Kohler just wasn't giving it his all on the boards and was constantly getting out-muscled, out-worked, and out-hustled on the glass. It didn't help that his conditioning (and vertical) took a massive hit because of his foot injury, but he was still not living up to the expectations people placed on him -- fair or not.
This season, it looks like he's been in the gym non-stop as he's perfected the craft of rebounding and has surpassed the 10-board plateau in four straight games.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a big on an opposing team that will out-work Kohler on the glass this season and that will continue on Saturday against MSU's former bigs coach, Dwayne Stephens. Kohler will out-duel Western's bigs and finish with 12 boards.