Michigan State basketball: 3 bold predictions vs. Indiana

Michigan State basketball will be in Bloomington tonight to take a pesky Indiana team that suddenly got hot. Let’s get bold.

The Michigan State basketball regular season comes to a close on Sunday as the Spartans hit the road for one final road game against Indiana. This will be a tough place to win as the Hoosiers are currently riding a three-game winning streak. The Spartans need another win, as a victory would eliminate any chance of missing the NCAA Tournament.

Here are my three bold predictions for the Spartans’ season finale.

1. AJ Hoggard scores 20 points

AJ Hoggard has been struggling offensively recently. He has failed to hit double digits in three straight games now and has only it done it twice in the last nine games. Hoggard also has only scored 20 points once this year in the Spartans’ win over Illinois.

If Michigan State is going to make a deep post-season run, it’s going to need more production from AJ. Thankfully for MSU, this could be the perfect opportunity for him to play well. In the Spartans’ last game against Indiana last season, he scored 22 points. I see something similar happening on Sunday as he will start hitting his stride as post-season play begins next week.

2. Michigan State hits 10 threes

This is another thing that seems unlikely considering Michigan State’s recent offensive struggles. They have only hit this mark once in their last 13 games. I think it’s time for MSU’s recent offensive woes to end.

The Spartans have not been shooting the ball well recently. They have honestly struggled to get anything going on offense. But I think they’re due for a big performance from beyond the arc and will begin to hit their stride on offense like we saw last year at the end of the season.

I predict 11 made threes for MSU in this matchup with Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins each hitting three. Hoggard and Tre Holloman will add two, and we’ll get one more from Xavier Booker.

3. Michigan State wins on Senior Night

I’ll be the first to admit that this is probably not bold enough to be included here, but I had to for one big reason. It’s hard to beat anyone on their Senior Night. I will be nervous anytime we play someone on their Senior Night, no matter how good MSU is or how bad the opponent is.

Indiana isn’t the best team this year, but the Hoosiers are trending in the right direction. They are on a three-game winning streak heading into this game with wins against Wisconsin, Maryland, and Minnesota. Those are three solid teams, so playing Indiana right now is no easy task.

So even though predicting a win over a 17-13 team isn’t bold, I’m putting it in here because this will be a tough game for Michigan State to win.