Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. Memphis in Maui

How the heck can a team that shoots 20 percent from 3-point range be winning games against power conference teams by double figures? That’s exactly what Michigan State basketball did on Monday evening against Colorado, shooting 2-for-21 from deep only to beat the Buffaloes 72-56.

Well, the Spartans need to find their stroke on Tuesday because Memphis isn’t going to roll over so easily.

The Tigers are 5-0 on the season and they just upset the No. 2 team in the country and two-time defending national champion UConn. The Huskies couldn’t overcome Memphis in overtime despite coming all the way back from down double digits with just minutes left in regulation to force overtime.

Now, Memphis will have to beat one of Tom Izzo’s deepest teams to date.

With the game just hours away from tip, let’s dive into some bold predictions.

1. The starters finally out-score the bench

It feels like the bench has out-scored the starters essentially every game and that’s because some of the guys in the starting five have struggled on the offensive end. In fact, the bench scored 40 points to the starters’ 32 on Monday and that was because Jase Richardson went off and guys like Jaden Akins, Jaxon Kohler, and Frankie Fidler were quiet offensively.

That changes on Tuesday.

The offense will run through Kohler a little more and Akins will take advantage of the inside-out game. Michigan State will get double figures from three starters (Fidler, Akins, and Kohler) while also getting eight assists from Jeremy Fears Jr. to go along with eight points. Szymon Zapala will add five points and five rebounds and the starters will finish with around 50 points compared to 20-30 from the bench.

2. The 3-point shooting will show improvements

OK, so I’ve been wrong a couple of times this year with my 3-point shooting bold predictions but I’m ready to say that the Spartans will finally improve their long-range shot on Tuesday. No, it won’t be massive but it’ll be somewhere in the 35 percent range and fans will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Michigan State isn’t taking bad shots from deep and it’ll continue to be open against Memphis on Tuesday, making 7-of-18 shots from long range to finish at around 33 percent. That’s not earth-shattering, by any means, but the fact that Michigan State is shooting 20 percent on the season from deep, it may as well be.

3. Defense wins the day

Michigan State basketball has been known more for its defense over the past few years than the offense and that’s what will win the game for the Spartans once again on Tuesday. Michigan State will take down a tough Memphis team thanks to that stifling defense.

The Spartans have held teams like Kansas, Samford, and Colorado to their lowest point totals of the season and they’re trying to do the same with Memphis on Tuesday. They’ll have to hold the Tigers under 68 points in order to do that and I see the Spartans doing just that. Michigan State’s defense holds its sixth opponent to their lowest point total of the season. The only team Michigan State didn’t hold to their lowest point total was Bowling Green.

Michigan State wins 75-67.