Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. struggling Michigan team

Tuesday night is a big one for Michigan State basketball. The Spartans will be hosting a 7-13 Michigan team that has been reeling for the past couple of months, but you can never overlook anyone in a rivalry game. However, the Spartans are playing for much more than the Wolverines.

In fact, Michigan State is still trying to bolster that NCAA Tournament resume and it could be Tom Izzo's 700th career win on his 69th birthday.

With all of the festivities going on, it feels like the perfect game for Izzo to record win No. 700 as he's always taken this Michigan rivalry game seriously. This means everything to him.

Without further ado, let's dive into the bold predictions for this potentially momentous occasion.

3. Mady Sissoko grabs 10-plus rebounds

Mady Sissoko hasn't been playing all that great this season as consistency has wavered. He's not an offensive threat but he can grab some rebounds and defend at a high level on the other end of the floor. He's going to do just that on Tuesday night.

As we all probably know by now, Sissoko had a death in his family prior to the Wisconsin game which caused him to play maybe a little out-of-sorts in his 22 minutes, but he'll use that as fuel.

Losing a close family member is crushing for anyone and Sissoko kept to himself during the Wisconsin loss which maybe led to some mental mistakes. But now that his teammates have been supporting him all week and making sure he's OK, he's going to thrive in the big rivalry game.

Sissoko is going to finish with 11 rebounds and he'll approach a double-double with eight points.