Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. Nebraska

After opening Big Ten play with an 18-point road win, Michigan State basketball will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against one of the conference’s surprise teams: Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers are 6-1 on the season and have a win over then-No. 14 Creighton. They aren’t going to go down easily even though they no longer have Keisei Tominaga. They’re led by former Charlotte transfer Brice Williams, averaging over 18 points per game.

On the other hand, Michigan State is led by senior guard Jaden Akins, averaging 12.4 points per game, but there are legitimately 8-9 guys on the roster who could go off on any night. The starting lineup is constantly battling the bench every game to be the premier scoring unit for the Spartans. The starters narrowly won that battle on Wednesday against Minnesota, 47-43.

Will the starters lead Michigan State to a big win on Saturday?

1. The bench outscores the starters

With Michigan State’s depth shining through this season, teams are having a tough time keeping pace with the Spartans. I think we’ll see that depth shine once again on Saturday.

Coen Carr will come off the bench to score in double figures and so will Frankie Fidler and Xavier Booker. Jase Richardson will score nine points and Carson Cooper will add four. The bench will finish with 43 points and the starters will have 37. That doesn’t mean the starters played poorly, just that the bench played a really good game.

2. MSU finishes with a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio

A good game, passing-wise, for most college hoops teams would be notching more assists than turnovers. Some teams barely have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, but this year’s Michigan State basketball team has shown an elite passing ability.

That continues against Nebraska.

After one of the best passing games of the season against Minnesota, the Spartans finished with 24 assists on Saturday with just eight turnovers. It’ll be one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios of the season and Nebraska will have a tough time answering.

3. Michigan State wins by double figures

I think Nebraska is one of the sneakiest teams in the Big Ten and Fred Hoiberg has the program trending in the right direction. However, this Michigan State team seems to have that dawg mentality. This feels like the most Tom Izzo-coached Michigan State team in recent memory.

Nebraska will put up a fight, but I think the Spartans’ defense will be too suffocating for the Cornhuskers and while an early barrage of threes will have fans worried, Michigan State will storm back and take control before halftime and then coast in the second half again.

Michigan State wins 80-68.