Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. Minnesota

Michigan State basketball and Minnesota will square off on Thursday night with positioning in the Big Ten standings on the line.

Michigan State basketball is set to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday night at the Breslin Center. The Spartans (10-7, 2-4 Big Ten) have a little momentum after a big win against Rutgers, but they need to add to that before they hit the road again.

My bold predictions were on fire for MSU’s last game against Rutgers, going 2-for-3 in that one. Let’s see if we can keep the magic going for this game.

1. Tyson Walker goes for 30

Tyson Walker has been having an amazing year so far this season. He has scored in double figures every game this year and is averaging 19.9 points per game. However, he has been in a little bit of a “slump” the last two games.

After scoring at least 22 points in three straight games, Walker failed to hit that mark the last two games, scoring 17 and 13 points, respectively. Now don’t get me wrong, those aren’t terrible games, but we know Tyson can do better.

Walker has only hit 30 points once this season when he scored 35 in the season-opening loss to James Madison. Since then, the closest he has been to 30 was 27 points. A 30-point night is never unrealistic for Walker, but since he’s only done it once this season I think we can count it as a bold prediction.

2. Steven Izzo part 2?

In case you somehow missed it, Steven Izzo scored his first basket of his MSU career in the Spartans’ last game against Rutgers. A tough finish plus the foul saw Izzo take his career points total to three, which by the way is three more than all of you reading this article. It took Steven over 40 appearances to score his first points, so surely that is the end of it right?

Wrong. Now that the lid is finally off the basket for Steven, I predict Steven will do the unthinkable and score for the second game in a row. This time it will come off a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer that will once again send the Breslin Center into an absolute frenzy.

3. Mady Sissoko scores double figures

Earlier this week, Tom Izzo discussed how he wants to see more post touches for the bigs down low. Now I’m not sure if this is the best option to improve the MSU offense, but with Izzo putting an emphasis on this recently I think the bigs could be in for a big game against Minnesota.

Mady Sissoko has scored in double figures only twice this season. He, however, hasn’t done so since Nov. 28 against Georgia Southern. I think Thursday will be the night that Sissoko gets a few more looks down low than normal. I also think he’ll hit a couple of those baby hook shots that he attempts every game as well. Add in a few dunks and three free throws and I predict a 13-point outing for Mady.