Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. pesky Oakland team

After picking up its biggest win of the 2023-24 season, Michigan State basketball will have a quick turnaround on Monday night, facing a pesky Oakland Grizzlies team.

Oakland began the season just 1-3 which would lead one to assume that the Grizzlies aren't that good this year, but that's not the case. They lost at Ohio State by six and then at Illinois by 11. They also lost to Drake, but the Grizzlies have wins over Marshall and Xavier since.

This team could be really pesky on Monday night.

Let's dive into some bold predictions for the matchup as Michigan State tries to get over .500.

3. Michigan State holds Trey Townsend under 10 points

For a second straight season, Trey Townsend is the Golden Grizzlies' best player. He's averaging 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 44 percent from three from the forward spot and I would venture to guess that we'll see Malik Hall on the 6-foot-6, 228-pounder from Oxford, Mich.

And the Spartans are going to give him fits.

We could see a number of different defenders slotted on him all night long, but I think we're going to see another dominant performance from the Spartans' defense as they hold the junior forward to under 10 points for just the third time this season.

This will be especially impressive seeing as Townsend is coming off a 22-point, 9-rebound performance against Eastern Michigan.