The Michigan State men's basketball team return home to East Lansing on Saturday, following the Spartans' first loss of the 2024-2025 season — a 77-69 defeat to No. 1 Kansas in the Champions Classic in Atlanta on Tuesday night — to take on the Bowling Green Falcons out of the MAC.
Saturday evening's game will take place at the Breslin Center at 6 p.m. ET and will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. The Spartans look to bounce back after the close loss to the Jayhawks, while the Falcons currently sit at 1-2 overall, and are coming off a victory over non-Division I opponent Taylor University.
Michigan State: Depth Chart and State of the Team
1 - Jeremy Fears Jr. (6’2” RS Fr..), Tre Holloman (6’2” Jr.)
2 - Jaden Akins (6’4” Sr.), Jase Richardson (6'3" Fr.), Gehrig Normand (6'5" RS Fr.)
3 - Frankie Fidler (6’7” Sr.), Coen Carr (6’5” So.), Kur Teng (6'4" Fr.)
4 - Xavier Booker (6'11" So.), Jaxon Kohler (6’9” Jr.)
5 - Syzmon Zapala (7'0" Sr.), Carson Cooper (6’11” So.), Jesse McCulloch (6''10" Fr., expected to redshirt)
Coming off of its first loss of the season against the top-ranked team in the country in Kansas, Michigan State will look to right the ship and get back to its winning ways. The Spartas will have a good opportunity to do that against Bowling Green.
In MSU's last game against the Jayhawks, senior forward Frankie Fidler led the offense in this game, posting 15 points and eight rebounds. The Spartans once again got good showings from junior forward/center Jaxon Kohler (12 points and 10 rebounds) and freshman guard Jase Richardson (eight points, three rebounds and two assists) off the bench, but the shooting woes continued as the Spartans shot 34.8% (24-for-69) from the field and only 12.5% (3-for-24) from 3-point range.
Through three games on the 2024-2025 season, MSU is shooting just 20% from beyond the arc, making just 12 out of its 60 attempts from deep range.
On a positive note, Michigan State had a good defensive showcase against the No. 1 team. as the Spartans allowed the Jayhawks to have team shooting splits of 40.6% overall/29.4% from 3-point range/72.7% from the free-throw line. But in order to win basketball games and hang banners, this MSU basketball team must find a way to shoot the basketball. Head coach Tom Izzo believes it will correct itself, but time will tell.
Bowling Green: Depth Chart and State of the Team
1 - Trey Thomas (6'0" Sr.), Derrick Butler (6'2" Sr.)
2 - Javontae Campbell (6’2” Jr.), Daijohn Humphrey (6'4" Sr.)
3 - Marcus Johnson (6’7” Sr.)
4 - Youssef Khayat (6'9" Jr.)
5 - Sam Towns (6'9" Sr.)
There will be a familiar face coming back to town when the Falcons come into the Breslin Center. Former Michigan State point guard Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr., an upcoming star in the college basketball coaching space, is the associate head coach for the Falcons. Nairn works under head coach Todd Simon, who is a Michigan native.
Bowling Green scores at a fairly high clip at 86.7 points per game, which is tied for 66th nationally. Guard Javontae Campbell leads the team with an impressive 18.7 points per game. He shoots an impressive 65.4% from the field. While the Falcons have impressed offensively, they struggles on the boards, averaging only 37 rebounds per game (tied for 213 nationally). Michigan State averages 45.3 rebounds per game and should dominate Bowling Green on the glass.
Defensively, Bowling Green has allowed over 75 points in each of its losses, and is allowing an average of 70.3 points per game through three games (182nd nationally). Forward/center Sam Towns is averaging 2.0 blocks per game, but the Spartans should dominant in the paint.
Game Breakdown and Prediction
If there is a team that Michigan State can stop their shooting woes against, it is the Bowling Green Falcons. The Spartans' physical play and defensive prowess should overwhelm the Falcons in this game.
This is a game where you hope to see some progress as a team when it comes to knocking down shots, while also coming away with a comfortable victory against an overmatched opponent.
Prediction: Michigan State 82, Bowling Green 60
