Michigan State Basketball: Spartans vs. San Jose State Preview

San Jose State returns to the Breslin Center for the first time since an 85-45 drubbing. That was the score the last time Michigan State basketball played the west coast Spartans all the way back in 2007.

Four total assists, 23 turnovers and only one made three-point attempt out of 11 total shots from beyond the arc were just some of the astounding stats that San Jose State had the last time they played in East Lansing.  The fellow Spartans enter tonight’s contest not only trying to rebound from those numbers, but their early-game numbers thus far in the season.

San Jose State comes into the Breslin Center 0-2 on the season so far, with losses to Utah and UCSB by an average of ten points.  While those games may look to be far from close, the fellow Spartans have some secret talent up their sleeve.

Who Should Michigan State basketball watch out for?

Colby Garland (Jr.) is currently averaging 25.5 points per game thus far into his third season.  The Longwood transfer is notably from Link Academy, the same high school as MSU commit Carlos Medlock, and target Ethan Taylor.  Garland not only leads the fellow Spartans in points per game, but also assists per game with four per game thus far.

The other weapon?  Senior guard JaVaughn Hannah, a Western Michigan transfer who played against MSU last year as a junior.  Hannah scored five points against the Spartans, but its more about his experience against the Big Ten Spartans, and playing in the competitive environment of the Breslin Center that will help him and the San Jose State Spartans in this one.

MSU on the other hand are coming off of a massive early season victory against the Arkansas Razorbacks this past Saturday in a 69-66 win.  Junior guard Coen Carr leads the team with 13.5 points per game, but its looking more and more likely that the leader will fluctuate as the season progresses, and that spot could have a new holder by the end of the night.

Things to Remember

Tonight’s contest is a simple non-conference game, where MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo will rotate his lineups to play as many players as possible.  Expect to see more Kur Teng, Divine Ugochukwu, and both freshmen Cam Ward and Jordan Scott in early rotations. This is the last tune up before the Spartans see Kentucky in the Champions’ Classic next Tuesday.

Redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. will also play a pivotal role in tonight’s game with his matchup against Garland.  If Fears can limit Garland’s lead, San Jose State might be out of this one before the end of the first half.