Tag: rocket watts

Game times, TV details for upcoming MSU Basketball games announced

Michigan State basketball has announced game times and TV details for their final four games in the calendar year of 2020.

[jwplayer ToMWO6Jz]

Michigan State basketball has announced game times and TV details for each of their final four games in the calendar year of 2020, including their Christmas day match-up against Wisconsin.

With the postponement of Wednesday’s match-up against Virginia, the next game for the Spartans will be against Oakland on Sunday. This will mark the Spartans’ final non-conference game, unless MSU is able to reschedule their game against Virginia or find another opponent to fill that slot.

The Spartans will wrap-up the calendar year with three conference games — at Northwestern, Wisconsin and at Minnesota.

Here is the breakdown of game times and TV details for the next four games:

  • Dec. 13 – Oakland at 12 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
  • Dec. 20 – Northwestern at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network
  • Dec. 25 – Wisconsin at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX
  • Dec. 28 – Minnesota at 8 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network

At this point, no other game times or TV details have been released for the rest of the Spartans’ schedule.

[vertical-gallery id=32969]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1363]

MSU Basketball vs. Western Michigan: Where to Watch, Game Preview & Prediction

Check out the game details, keys to the match-up, and my game prediction in this Michigan State-Western Michigan preview.

Michigan State basketball returns to the floor on Sunday for their third game of the week, this time against the Western Michigan Broncos. This marks the Spartans’ third match-up against an in-state opponent, with MSU picking up wins against the previous two in Eastern Michigan and Detroit Mercy.

The Spartans are a perfect 4-0 on the season, but that undefeated start to the season was in danger on Friday against Detroit Mercy. MSU needed a late rally to survive the Titans’ upset bid, winning 83-76. Spartans fans will be hoping for a less stressful match-up against Western Michigan on Sunday.

Let’s take a look at this match-up against the Broncos, with game details, things to watch, and last but not least my prediction for this game.

WATCH: Highlights from MSU Basketball’s narrow victory over Detroit Mercy, 83-76

Check out the best highlights from Michigan State basketball’s near disastrous loss to Detroit Mercy on Friday night.

[jwplayer q47PkZ9W]

It wasn’t supposed to be that close, as Detroit Mercy gave the Spartans a real scare on Friday night. Michigan State needed a late surge and a few stops down the stretch to hold off the Titans, 83-76.

Rocket Watts led the Spartans in scoring with 23 points and four assists. Gabe Brown (16 points), Aaron Henry (12 points) and Joey Hauser (10 points) each also reached double-digits in points, with Henry also grabbing 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

“Trap game a little bit, a team that we had nothing on, players that we didn’t even know, found a way to win, we’re going to have to do that a couple times,” head coach Tom Izzo said during his post game press conference. “But those of you who think that we’re ready for the national championship because we beat Duke, readjust your theories, we got a lot of work and a long way to go.”

Here are highlights from Friday’s near upset:

MSU returns to the court on Sunday against another in-state foe in Western Michigan. That game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. EST and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

[vertical-gallery id=32820]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1363]

MSU Basketball vs. Detroit Mercy: Where to Watch, Game Preview & Prediction

Check out the game details, keys to the match-up, and my game prediction in this Michigan State-Detroit Mercy preview.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, Michigan State and Detroit Mercy will tangle on the hardwood in a non-conference match-up on Friday night. Tip-off from the Breslin Center is scheduled for 5 p.m. EST.

MSU enters this in-state battle coming off an impressive road victory over No. 6 Duke earlier this week. The Spartans are a perfect 3-0 on the season.

Detroit Mercy will be making their first appearance of the season after having to deal with a positive COVID-19 test that resulted in the cancellation of numerous games.

Let’s take a look at this match-up against the Titans, with game details, things to watch, and last but not least my prediction for this game.

Notre Dame Lets No. 12 Michigan State Run Away With Drought

Notre Dame learned a hard lesson in its season opener against Michigan State: Don’t let a blue blood hang around.

Notre Dame learned a hard lesson in its season opener against Michigan State: Don’t give an opening to a blue blood. Otherwise, you could find yourself too far behind too late. That’s exactly what happened in an 80-70 loss.

The Irish stayed with the Spartans for much of the first half and even took a 26-22 lead with over seven minutes left. After that, the bottom fell out as the Irish’s shooting went cold, and the Spartans went on a 28-0 run that extended into the second half. Even after that streak ended, the Spartans continued to build their lead, and a 13-3 Irish run over the final four minutes made it a final score that was closer than the game would indicate.

“It’s a great example of how fragile a game is,” Irish coach Mike Brey said.

Aaron Henry was the Spartans’ top scorer with 14 points, Joey Hauser had a double-double of 10 points and 16 rebounds, and Rocket Watts scored 13 to lead a bench that outscored the Irish’s, 39-6.

“We’ve got to keep finding some guys to come off the bench to help us,” Brey said.

Meanwhile, the starters carried the load on a night when none of them played fewer than 30 minutes. In what could be a sign of the season to come, Prentiss Hubb led all scorers with 23 points. Though he also recorded a game-high five turnovers, Brey has full confidence in the junior who’s the highest scoring returnee from last season.

“It’s Prentiss’ team,” Brey said. “He’s the one talking in the huddle.”

Cormac Ryan, seeing his first college basketball action since transferring from Stanford, scored 13 points and saw all of his field goals come from 3-point range. Nate Laszewski and Dane Goodwin both had 12. At the very least, the top of the Irish’s depth chart appears it will be productive this season.

“We just gotta play for a full 40 minutes,” Hubb said.

Doing that against a team as stacked as Michigan State wasn’t easy, but Hubb sees some good coming out of it.

“I think it’s a learning experience,” he said. “We got to play against a really physical team, and they pushed the ball really hard, and I think that going forward, we’re going to have to be able to dig in and box out and rebound and just match other teams’ intensities.”

Michigan State Basketball beats Notre Dame at home 80-70

The Spartans beat Notre Dame handily to earn their second win of the season.

[jwplayer 3MsdFAJ2-PROpJzTY]

It’s a great day to be a Spartan! On a very rare Saturday that featured both the Michigan State Football and Basketball teams playing on the same day in East Lansing, both teams picked up nice wins at home.

The football team started the day off by upsetting Northwestern 29-20. The basketball team followed suit shortly after that by beating Notre Dame 80-70. The final score was closer than the game actually was as the Spartans were in control for nearly the entire contest.

Here are a few of my first reactions to the blowout win by the Spartans:

  • Aaron Henry is playing like the star he can be: He had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks and a steal. He was extremely aggressive on both sides of the court, and when Henry is aggressive, he can be one of the best players in college basketball.
  • Joshua Langford is actually back: It’s still hard to believe, but Joshua Langford is actually back and looking healthy. I’m still extremely nervous about jinxing him but he is looking athletic and aggressive on the court, which is a great sign.
  • Rocket Watts is already getting his groove back: Watts didn’t look great for stretches in MSU’s season opener against Eastern Michigan, but he looked great tonight, racking up 13 points and 6 assists. He shot 60% from three as well, which is awesome to see. We recently found out that he was dealing with a knee bruise, which might explain why Foster Loyer was able to earn the starting role, but he didn’t show many signs of injury tonight.
  • Marcus Bingham makes case for starting job: For this team to hit their potential, Marcus Bingham had to assert himself and take the starting role from Thomas Kithier. I can’t think of a better way for him to have done that than his performance tonight. He ended up with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 steal, and was +19 on the night, good for the second-best plus-minus on the team.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

MSU Basketball vs. Notre Dame Preview: Game Details, Keys to Match-Up & Prediction

Check out the game details, keys to the match-up, and my game prediction in this Michigan State-Notre Dame preview.

It doesn’t get much better than Spartan football and basketball back-to-back on a Saturday afternoon/evening. That’s what we’ll get today, and it’s even better that the Spartans basketball team gets a rivalry match-up.

Shortly after the football team finishes up at Spartan Stadium, the basketball squad will take the floor at the Breslin Center against Notre Dame. This will be the Spartans’ second game of the year, with MSU picking up an easy victory earlier this week against Eastern Michigan.

Let’s take a look at this match-up against the Fighting Irish, with game details, things to watch, and last but not least my prediction for this game.

Foster Loyer leads MSU Basketball to season-opening victory over Eastern Michigan

MSU cruised to a season-opening victory over short-handed Eastern Michigan, 83-67, thanks to a career-high performance from Foster Loyer.

[jwplayer ThHMsta4]

Michigan State basketball cruised to a season-opening victory over short-handed Eastern Michigan, 83-67, thanks to a career-high performance from the Spartans’ new starting point guard — Foster Loyer.

Loyer hit 6-of-10 three-point attempts on Wednesday night to lead the Spartans with a career-high 20 points. Loyer also finished with two assists.

Joey Hauser (15 points), Gabe Brown (12 points), and Joshua Langford (10 points) also joined Loyer in the double-digit points column in the Spartans’ season-opening victory. Wednesday was the first time Langford had played in nearly two years after battling foot injuries the past few seasons.

It was announced shortly before tipoff that Eastern Michigan would be missing six players in this match-up, leaving the Eagles with only eight available players. It is unclear why the Eagles were without those players.

MSU got off to a sloppy start in the opening half of the season, with Eastern Michigan hanging around for the better part of the first half. The Eagles held a 19-17 point with 8:50 to go in the first half, but from that point on the Spartans took control. MSU ended the first half on a 26-to-8 run to take a 43-27 lead at halftime.

Loyer was the first half star for the Spartans with 17 of his career-high 20 points coming in the first 20 minutes.

The Spartans were able to build upon their halftime lead, with MSU leading by as many as 21 points in the second half. Eastern Michigan was never able to get the game within single digits in the second half.

MSU finished the game shooting 54.5% compared to 40.6% for Eastern Michigan. The Spartans were especially impressive from behind the arc, hitting 12-of-28 (42.9%) from three-point range against the Eagles.

One area that’ll need to be improved is protecting the basketball (yes, that issue again). The Spartans had 18 turnovers, which will surely be something head coach Tom Izzo will address moving forward.

Next up for MSU is the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on Saturday. The Spartans will host Notre Dame at the Breslin Center, with tipoff at 8 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

[vertical-gallery id=32394]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1363]

Foster Loyer, Thomas Kithier get the start in MSU Basketball’s game vs. Eastern Michigan

In Michigan State’s season opener against Eastern Michigan, Foster Loyer and Thomas Kithier are starting for the Spartans.

[jwplayer uZffHiR1-PROpJzTY]

Well, I predicted that this may be the case last week. Despite the assumption all summer being that Michigan State Basketball would be starting Rocket Watts at point guard, in their first game against Eastern Michigan they are starting Foster Loyer.

In addition, the Spartans are also starting Thomas Kithier over players like Marcus Bingham, Malik Hall, and Gabe Brown.

While I take some objection to these decisions, they are pretty consistent with an Izzo coaching style as Kithier and Loyer both have a lot of experience, something Izzo covets.

The starting lineup looks like this:

  • G Foster Loyer
  • G Joshua Langford
  • F Aaron Henry
  • F Thomas Kithier
  • F Joey Hauser

[vertical-gallery id=30092]

MSU Basketball Season Preview: What you need to know as 2020-21 season begins

Before the season begins, let’s take a look back at some of the preseason headlines and get a better idea of what we can expect this season.

College basketball has returned to East Lansing, with the Spartans set to take the floor on Wednesday for their season-opener against Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. EST and the game can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

Before the season begins, let’s take a quick look back at some of the preseason headlines and get a better idea of what we can expect from the Spartans this season.