• What: Michigan State vs. Oakland
• When: Noon, Saturday
• Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
• TV/Radio: Big Ten Network/Spartan Sports Network radio, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM; SiriusXM Ch. 195
Advertisement
• Records/Rankings: MSU is 10-1 and ranked No. 9 in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches poll, No. 10 in the NET rankings used by the NCAA tournament selection committee, and No. 11 per the college basketball analytics site Kenpom.com. Oakland is 6-6 and unranked by both major polls. The Golden Grizzlies are No. 135 in the NET rankings and 151 per Kenpom.
• Betting line: None available yet
• Coaches: Michigan State — Tom Izzo is 746-303 in his 31st season as a head coach, all with the Spartans. Oakland — Greg Kampe is 721-561 in his 42nd season as a head coach, all with the Golden Grizzlies.
• Series: MSU leads 23-0 all-time. The programs have met 14 straight seasons.
Advertisement
Projected lineups
MSU
C (15) Carson Cooper (6-11) 10.1
PF (0) Jaxon Kohler (6-9) 14.0
SF (55) Coen Carr (6-5) 10.6
SG (99) Divine Ugochukwu (6-3) 5.5
PG (1) Jeremy Fears Jr. (6-2) 11.5
Oakland
F (12) Tuburu Naivalurua (6-8) 13.5
C (32) Isaac Garrett (6-8) 15.2
F (6) Michael Houge (6-7) 14.5
G (2) Ziare Wells (6-6) 10.1
PG (55) Brody Robinson (5-11) 16.3
• MSU update: The Spartans, coming off a 92-69 win over Toledo on Tuesday night, face Oakland in their final game before a break for Christmas. MSU has now won 20 straight games against mid- and low-major opponents, dating back to an opening night loss to James Madison on Nov. 6, 2023. The Spartans have never lost to Oakland, but have four times won this matchup by six points or less, meeting every season but one since 2005.
Advertisement
MSU’s once-poor 3-point shooting has come around. The Spartans are making 36.5% of their 3-point shots this season. That’s in the top 20% of Division I college basketball. They remain elite defensively — fifth nationally in defensively efficiency, per Kenpom — and on the glass — where they’re fourth and seventh, respectively, in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage.
RELATED: Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State’s 92-69 win over Toledo
• Oakland update: The Golden Grizzlies picked up a big road win in the Horizon League on Wednesday night, 82-77, at Northern Kentucky. They’re 2-0 in conference play, also beating Fort Wayne. Oakland’s only common opponent with MSU is Toledo, which the Grizzlies beat, 98-97, at home. Oakland’s six losses include a murderer’s row schedule to start the season — at Michigan, at Purdue, at Houston. Of those, the Grizzlies played Purdue tough, losing by 10. Not surprising for a Greg Kampe team, Oakland’s strength is on the offensive end, where the Grizzlies are in the top 25% in college basketball in offensive efficiency and in the bottom 25% in defensive efficiency, per Kenpom.
• Matchup analysis: This game has become a fun pre-Christmas tradition, right down to Tom Izzo and Greg Kampe’s Christmas sweaters. In terms of overall level of play and defensive vulnerability, Oakland thus far is similar to Toledo, hence the one-point win over the Rockets in a game that saw 195 points scored in total. Some of the Grizzlies’ numbers are skewed by playing Michigan, Purdue and Houston the first nine days of the season. Some of their defensive metrics also might be from having four new starters operating what’s a fairly sophisticated or chaotic zone defense — depending on who you ask — one that’s given the Spartans fits at times, including for a while last season at Little Caesars Arena. “We’re confused. (Kampe’s) confused. Everybody’s confused,” Izzo said, describing Oakland’s zone. MSU has seen some zone recently — notably against Duke and also Toledo — and has been emphasizing facing zone in practice, after Izzo thought he didn’t do it enough ahead of the Duke game. That should help MSU.
Advertisement
The Rockets have a quick and crafty point guard in Texas-Arlington transfer Brody Robinson, who’s one of three capable volume outside shooters on the team. This is an team that seems a bit more physical than it’s been, both on the drive and inside. Tuburu Naivalurua is a presence in the paint and on the glass at the mid-major level, a better counter to MSU than anyone Toledo had. Junior college transfer Isaac Garrett is a skilled low-post scorer at their level. It’ll be interesting to see them against Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper.
• Prediction: Like Toledo, Oakland has some good pieces and will be a fun team to watch this season. The Grizzlies will also benefit from what looks like a relatively weak Horizon League and should have a chance to win it. I don’t think they have a chance to upset MSU on Saturday, though. Kampe will have to wait another year.
• Make it: MSU 80, Oakland 62
Advertisement
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU basketball vs. Oakland prediction, preview, TV info, betting line
