The No. 7 Michigan State Spartans look to finish out the month of January undefeated in the Big Ten as they welcome in the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The teams will be meeting for the second time in as many months Tuesday night.
The Spartans are coming off an 81-74 win over Rutgers while the Golden Gophers are coming off a 77-69 victory over Oregon. In the two teams' first meeting, MSU was able to get a 90-72 win in Minneapolis, so the Spartans will be looking to complete the season sweep at the Breslin Center.
This game will start at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and is being streamed exclusively on Peacock.
Michigan State: Depth Chart and State of the Team
1 - Jeremy Fears Jr. (6’2” RS Fr.)
2 - Jaden Akins (6’4” Sr.), Jase Richardson (6'3" Fr.), Kur Teng (6'4" Fr.)
3 - Tre Holloman (6’2” Jr.), Frankie Fidler (6’7” Sr.), Gehrig Normand (6'5" RS Fr.)
4 - Jaxon Kohler (6’9” Jr.), Xavier Booker (6'11" So.), Coen Carr (6’5” So.)
5 - Szymon Zapala (7'0" Sr.), Carson Cooper (6’11” So.), Jesse McCulloch (6''10" Fr., expected to redshirt)
The Spartans continued their winning ways as they were able to pick up a road victory versus Rutgers at Madison Square Garden to stay undefeated in league play eight games into the schedule. The win came behind a career high 20 points from freshman guard Jase Richardson.
As always, the Michigan State bench was once again spectacular in this game as Coen Carr added 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Even more impressive than Carr's offensive output was what he did on the defensive end against Scarlet Knights star and projected NBA lottery pick Ace Bailey. Bailey did get 18 points, but it came on 4-for-17 shooting as he struggled to get off good looks when guarded by Carr.
In the first meeting of the season between these two teams Jaxon Kohler had a double double while Xavier Booker and Carr combined for 23 points.
Minnesota: Depth Chart and State of the Team
1 - Lu'yce Patterson (6'2" Sr.)
2 - Mike Mitchell Jr. (6'2" Sr.), Isaac Asuma (6'3" Fr.)
3 - Femi Odukale (6'6" Sr.)
4 - Dawson Garcia (6'11" Sr.), Frank Mitchell (6'8" Jr.),
5 - Parker Fox (6'8" Sr.) Trey Edmonds (6'10" Sr.)
Minnesota and head coach Ben Johnson are a team that is near the bottom of the Big Ten in the standings, but you could make an argument that the Gophers are one of the hotter teams in the Big Ten. UM is coming into this game on a three-game win streak that includes victories over Michigan, Iowa, and Oregon.
Minnesota has one of the best players in the Big Ten in senior Dawson Garcia. Garcia is — for lack of a more nuanced term — a monster. He averages 19 points and seven rebounds per game, and has scored 31, 20, 27, 21, and 22 in his last five games, respectively. Garcia is currently on a tear and will have to be a focal point defensively for the Spartans.
Things that have also been a component of this win streak for the Gophers iis Garcia is getting help from his supporting cast that he was not getting early in the season. Parker Fox is an athletic and energetic big that does all of the dirty work, mixing things up when needed. In the backcourt, Lu'cye Patterson and Mike Mitchell Jr. are very streaky shot makers, but if they get it going early, they can pour in buckets in bunches.
Game Breakdown and Prediction
The Spartans greatest team attribute is that they are a team that has many different guys who they can rely on from a night-to-night basis. This makes it tough to prepare for MSU defensively, but it also makes it tough to play against them on the other end a swell because they can throw many different bodies at opposing players defensively.
This makes it tough for teams like Minnesota to beat the Michigan State because the Gophers are so dependent on one player. The Spartans have the personnel to make things difficult for Garcia, which I think in turn will make it difficult for UM to pull this upset on the road.
Prediction: Michigan State 80, Minnesota 60
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