Who thought it was possible to get Final Four vibes from a game that truly doesn’t count? Michigan State will host No. 4 UConn for an exhibition game on Tuesday night which will give off major Final Four vibes.
It makes sense because these two teams are likely to be standing late next March and they just met this past season as the Huskies ended the Spartans’ season early.
Tom Izzo and the Spartans certainly haven’t forgotten about that Sweet 16 loss where they almost came all the way back from down double digits early to win. Dan Hurley got the last laugh and made it all the way to the title game before losing to Michigan.
The Huskies are going to be in the top five to begin the year and they’re likely to remain there for a while. Michigan State, too, is a top-10 team, and Tuesday’s exhibition game is the perfect opportunity to see how the Spartans stack up against one of the nation’s top title contenders. This will be a nice contention barometer.
Let’s get some bold predictions in for the biggest exhibition game of the season.
Cam Ward records a double-double
You just know Cam Ward was chomping at the bit to play in the exhibition opener against Incarnate Word, but he was the only Spartan to sit out as he recovered from an injury.
He’s not going to hold back against the Huskies and he’s going to channel his inner 2025 Arkansas game self. Ward is going to dominate on the glass as well as in the paint on the offensive end to finish with 12 points and 11 rebounds. This dude is so competitive that Izzo is going to have to drag him off the court to keep him healthy.
The power forward position is going to prove to be a huge strength this year.
It’s going to be a free throw fest
”Let the boys play” will be screamed from the stands by every middle-aged dad in attendance as the whistles will be plentiful and so will the free throws.
Two really physical teams are going at it in exhibition play when the wins and losses don’t count against the record so you can bet that physicality is going to be turned up a notch. No one wants to see a free throw fest in a top-six matchup in exhibition play, but the refs don’t care about what we think.
Both sides are going to shoot 20-plus free throws and lull the fans to sleep. Luckily it’s going to be a tight game so they’ll have to stay awake during every attempt from the charity stripe.
Michigan State will shoot 85-plus percent from the line, though. Little victories.
Michigan State actually completes the comeback this time
Michigan State is going to come out a little slow again (the Spartans are known for that) but they’ll scratch and claw their way back a-la the Sweet 16 game seven months ago.
This time, they’ll complete the comeback.
Michigan State will find itself down 10 early and then anywhere from 5-7 for most of the second half before Jeremy Fears perks up and puts the team on his back. The Spartans get hot from three and stay hot in the second half, downing UConn after trailing for 30-35 minutes of game time.
It won’t count as a regular-season win, but it’ll feel like one against this elite UConn team.
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