The Michigan State men's basketball team returns to action on Thursday night, as the Spartans welcome the Niagara Purple Eagles into the Breslin Center for their second game on the 2024-2025 season.
The game will take place at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and will air on the Big Ten Network. Michigan State (1-0, 0-0) is coming off an 81-57 victory over Monmouth, while Niagara (1-0, 0-0) is coming off a 100-65 win over Division III Houghton University.
The Spartans will be heavy favorites in this game against the Purple Eagles, but will need to be focused and prepared as they look to improve to 2-0 on the young season before a big matchup at the Champions Classic versus No. 1-ranked Kansas on Tuesday.
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)
The Spartans got off to a high-flying start in their last game against Monmouth. While the Hawks cut the lead to six points early in the second half, Michigan State took over from there and never looked back en route to a 24-point win over Monmouth.
Senior guard Jaden Akins tied his career-high with 23 points in the victory. Akins scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half, hitting 8-of-12 shots from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. He added a team-high nine rebounds, handed out five assists and had two blocks and two steals.
True freshman guard Jase Richardson looked comfortable in his regular-season collegiate debut, as he recorded 10 points and four assists off the bench. Menawhile, senior center and Longwood transfer Szymon Zapala finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
The Spartans shot 49.2% from the field, 16.7% on 3-pointers, and 66.7% on free throws in the win. The Spartans will surely look to replicate their overall shooting performance, but would obviously like to get on track from beyond the arc as well.
As a note, while sophomore Coen Carr is listed at the three position on the depth chart, he will likely play at the four spot as well. Junior Jaxon Kohler will likely play both the four and five positions, while true freshman big man Jesse McCulloch is planning to redshirt and likely won't see action this season.
Niagara Depth Chart and State of the Team
1 - Jahari Williamson (6'1" So.)
2 - Josiah Davis (6'3" Jr.), Justin Page (6'5" So.)
3 - Olumide Adelodun (6'5" Sr.), Jaeden Marshall (6'4" Sr.)
4 - Justice Smith (6'6" Sr.), Will Shortt (6'8" Fr.)
5 - Jhaylon Martinez (6'11" Sr.)
As mentioned, head Coach Greg Paulus — a Duke alumnus — and his Niagara Purple Eagles picked up an easy season-opening win over Division III Houghton University on Monday, so they will be taking a huge step up in competition against the Spartans.
The Purple Eagles shot 57.4% from the field, 44.4% on 3-pointers, and 72% on free throws in the win over the Highlanders. Niagara made 12 3-pointers and 18 free throws, and recorded 22 assists. The Purple Eagles won the rebounding battle by five in the win as well (38-33).
Guard Jahari Williamson led Niagara with 16 points, three assists and three steals on Monday. Meanwhile, wing Olumide Adelodun added 15 points and four rebounds in the game.
This Niagara team has size and some guys that have talent, but the players on the roster are relatively new to playing with each other, as the Purple Eagles brought in 10 new transfers and some true freshmen, so it will be interesting to see how they come together as a team.
Interestingly, one such newcomer for Niagara is wing Jaeden Marshall, who was previously teammates with current Michigan State forward Frankie Fidler at Nebraska Omaha.
Game Breakdown and Prediction
Both of these teams were able to pick up very comfortable wins in their opening game of the season, but Michigan State played a Division I school, while Niagara played a Division III foe. The Spartans took some time to pull away from Monmouth, but they played very good defense in the win and eventually dominated.
Niagara beat up Houghton in its first game, so we really didn’t learn much about the Purple Eagles, but the team did shoot over 44% from deep, so the Spartans will have to be sure to stay focused on the defensive end and not give up easy looks.
I think the Michigan State defense wreaks havoc on Thursday and the Spartans knock down some 3-pointers at a much better clip in this one to win this game against Niagara comfortably.
Prediction: Michigan State 84, Niagara 55
