MSU at Penn State Breakdown & Prediction

No. 18 Michigan State vs. Penn State

Time: 7 p.m.

Venue: Bryce Jordan Center

TV: Big Ten Network

Records: Michigan State 14-3, 3-1 Big Ten; Penn State 8-8, 0-4

Michigan State stat leaders: Points – Keith Appling (13.8 ppg); Rebounds – Derrick Nix/Adreian Payne (7.2 rpg); Assists – Appling (4.6 apg); Steals – Branden Dawson (1.9 spg).

Penn State stat leaders: Points – Tim Frazier (16.3 ppg); Rebounds – Ross Travis (7.6 rpg); Assists – Frazier/D.J. Newbill (3.8 apg); Steals – Frazier (2.3 spg).

Current Streaks: Michigan State W3; Penn State L4

Point Spread: Michigan State -12

Prediction: There aren’t many “easy” games in the Big Ten, but this one should be one of the easier ones for Michigan State. Penn State has struggled against lesser teams, losing to Purdue by 18 and Northwestern by 16. The Nittany Lions are one of the worst offensive teams in the country and shoot just 38.9 percent as a team. The Spartans tend to play to the level of their competition, but this is a game that I see them winning comfortably as they look to build some positive momentum heading into a very tough stretch of Big Ten games. Michigan State 72, Penn State 54.

Who will win the Big Ten in basketball?

The start of Big Ten play isn’t far off in college basketball and this basketball season is shaping up to be everything the football season wasn’t.

The conference has six ranked teams, five of which are in the top 13. Both of those numbers are most of any conference in the country.

Illinois and Michigan are still unbeaten with Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio State all with one loss and Michigan State joining Iowa with two losses.

The Wolverines have the highest ranking (2), but the Hoosiers were the top team in the country until suffering an overtime loss to Butler last weekend. It still seems that Indiana is the best team in the Big Ten, but things should really be up for grabs this conference season.

There really seems to be about seven or eight teams that could all contend for the conference title, but the big guns seem to be Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan State.

Which one is most likely to come out on top?

I said before that I don’t think the Spartans have the talent and consistency to win the Big Ten this year. They just seem to play to the level of their competition, and that is a dangerous game when three losses in conference could take you out of the race.

I think Michigan has the talent, but they are still young and still have to have some concerns about defending in the paint. Glenn Robinson III is actually leading the team in rebounding at 6.5 per game. Jordan Morgan will need more of a presence inside. He is averaging just 4.8 boards per game right now.

So, who do you see winning the Big Ten this season? I am sticking with the preseason favorite, Indiana, because Tom Crean has slowly built the program into a solid team with strong depth. The Hoosiers can attack inside and out and have a competent coach leading the way.

Which team do you think will win the Big Ten title in basketball?

Early thoughts on Michigan State's basketball season

Michigan State is off to an 8-2 start through 10 games.
Given some of the tough opponents early on, I think that is a pretty reasonable mark for the Spartans at this point in the season.
MSU handed Kansas its only loss of the season, and the two losses for the Spartans have come against 1-loss Miami and 2-loss Connecticut.
Still, Michigan State has had some shaky performances, with the narrow wins over Boise State and Lafayette coming to mind.
As a team, it is still quite hard to say what Michigan State is. At times they have looked brilliant. Other times they have looked awful.
It won’t surprise me if MSU ends up being a team that plays to the level of its competition throughout Big Ten play.
I don’t think the Spartans will get blown out, but I don’t see them having the all-around talent to light up many teams in the conference either.
Gary Harris has been as good as Michigan State could hope for from a true freshman. He is second on the team in scoring (13 ppg) and shooting 53.3% from the field. MSU was a noticeably different team when he was not playing due to a shoulder injury.
Keith Appling has been the team leader, which was expected. He is averaging 14.6 points per game and also leading the team in assists, with 45. Appling has still had his rough moments on the floor, though, and I am not completely sold that he is a players capable of leading MSU to a championship.
I do give credit to the development of Adreian Payne. He has been more impactful than I expected and he is also shooting 89.5 percent from the charity stripe, which is a great stat for a man of his size.
The Spartans have the potential to be great, but they face an uphill climb in the Big Ten. The majority of games in conference play will be a battle and the Spartans are relying on some young talent to be durable throughout the season.
The key to the season will be in leadership, and whether or not Appling can handle to the role of the go-to player. We all know he can score, but being a leader is about more than that.

Early thoughts on Michigan's basketball season

Michigan has gotten off to an 8-0 start this basketball season and the Wolverines have looked pretty good in the process.

The Wolverines haven’t faced the toughest competition, but they also haven’t played a cake schedule. In recent years, wins over Pittsburgh and Kansas State would carry more weight than they do this year. N.C. State was ranked 18^th at the time, so that still is a good win, relatively speaking.

Everyone knew what Michigan had in Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. Those two have lived up to expectations thus far, with Burke average 17 points and 7.1 assists per game and Hardaway chipping in with 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

Many also knew of Michigan’s talented freshmen that were coming in, led by Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary.

What has been somewhat surprising is the play of another freshman, Nik Stasukas.

Stauskas is currently third on the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game and he is shooting an amazing 63.6% from 3-point land (21 of 33).

With McGary being a little slow out of the gates, Stauskas has picked up the slack and made Michigan into more of a dangerous team that first projected.

We have to assume that Stauskas will cool off at some point, but we can also expect McGary to improve. The key, either way, is that Michigan has a lot of scoring options this year.

With Robinson III’s 13.9 points per game, Michigan has four players averaging double figures in scoring. Outside of those four players, the Wolverines still have contributors like Jordan Morgan and McGary.

Right now the Wolverines are third in the nation in shooting at 52.1 percent. It would be hard to see them continuing to shoot that well. But, unlike past seasons, it appears Michigan won’t have to rely on shooting well from the outside to win games, which is why it is fair to call Michigan one of the best teams in the country right now.

Big Ten College Basketball Preseason Predictions

It’s hard to believe, but the college basketball season already gets underway this Friday.

I plan on jumping heavily into basketball once the regular season of football is over, but I thought I would give my preseason picks for the Big Ten today before the season actually begins.

Here is how I look for the Big Ten to play out this year.

1. Indiana – The Hoosiers have the experience and the talent. It was a slow rebuild for Tom Crean, but patience seems to be paying off for Indiana.

2. Michigan – Things can go really well for Michigan this year or really poorly. The Wolverines are relying on a lot of new faces, but they are expected to be a talented group of new faces. Hardaway Jr. and Burke will need to stay healthy throughout the season.

3. Michigan State – The Spartans have a lot of talent, but the loss of Draymond Green will hurt in more ways than one. Leadership issues could lead to struggles during the season. If Nix and Payne take a big step forward in their progression, the Spartans could win the conference.

4. Ohio State – The loss of Jared Sullinger and William Buford are big for the Buckeyes. They will have to rely more on their defense this year, led by Aaron Craft. I don’t see them being able to consistently win big games in the conference.

5. Wisconsin – The Badgers return a solid core from last year but lose their playmaker in Jordan Taylor. Not sure where the points will come from for Wisconsin, but they should be strong defensively once again.

6. Minnesota – The Golden Gophers could be the dark horse in the Big Ten as they return their top five scoring leaders from last season. The question is, even with the returning talent, do they have the talent that the other teams in the Big Ten have?

7. Purdue – The Boilermakers were hit hard with losing the likes of Robbie Hummel, Lewis Jackson and Ryne Smith. Purdue will be a team that is stronger later in the season as it develops new go-to players.

8. Iowa – The Hawkeyes took a step forward last year and I think that will continue some this year as they threaten to earn a NCAA Tournament bid. Iowa’s concern is not having a lot of depth to work with after losing four players from last year’s squad.

9. Northwestern – Some see Northwestern higher, but the loss of John Shurna will be a lot to overcome. The Wildcats still have some talent, but they don’t have a game-changer like Shurna to turn to. Drew Crawford will attempt to take that role, but I’m not sure he can do it with added defensive focus put on him.

10. Illinois – I like the addition of John Groce as the coach, but he doesn’t have a lot to work with this season at Illinois. Look for the Illini to struggle most of the year, but pull off a few upsets late in the season.

11. Penn State – It’s hard to say if it’s good news or bad news, but Penn State lost four players from a 12-20 team last season. I see it as the Nittany Lions having little talent, and now, even less depth.

12. Nebraska – What Nebraska can accomplish in football with a move to the Big Ten, it loses in basketball. The Cornhuskers are a mess of a basketball program. Similar to Penn State, Nebraska lost five players from a 12-18 team. It will be a long year for new coach Tim Miles.