PREVIEW: Michigan State travels to Penn State for rematch with Nittany Lions
After an 88-80 win over No. 10 Illinois on Saturday, Michigan State men’s basketball travels to Happy Valley to take on Penn State. The Spartans (15-9, 7-6 Big Ten) look to continue building up their NCAA Tournament resume against the Nittany Lions (12-12, 6-7). Michigan State defeated Penn State, 92-61, at home back on Jan. 4.
Senior A.J. Hoggard is coming off his best game of the year with 23 points, five assists without a turnover against the Fighting Illini. The point guard helped out on defense with two steals. Meanwhile, senior Malik Hall also showed up in a big way with 22 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and knocking down 7-of-9 free throw attempts. These performances come after both were non-factors in MSU’s crucial loss to Minnesota last Tuesday.
For the Spartans, every game over the last several weeks has felt like a must-win with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line, and that doesn’t change against Penn State. Hoggard and Hall were Michigan State’s key players on Saturday, as the Spartans didn’t need to rely on leading-scorer Tyson Walker to save the day. Other than the game against Minnesota, Hall has been playing very well of late and has emerged as a No. 2 scoring option for MSU, reaching double figures in points in 10 of the last 12 games.
Michigan State cannot lay off the gas pedal against Penn State. The Nittany Lions have struggled to shoot the 3, only averaging 32.3% from beyond the arc. Defensively, the Spartans can exploit Penn State’s weak outside shooting by denying the inside, stopping dribble penetration and forcing the Nittany Lions into jumpshots.
Penn State is coming off a close loss against Northwestern, and are looking to rebound against the Spartans. The Nittany Lions are led by senior guard Ace Baldwin Jr., who leads the team in assists (5.4 per game) and is also second in scoring (14.1). Sophomore guard Kanye Clary leads Penn State at 17.1 points per game.
With seven games remaining, most of which Michigan State is favored to win, the Spartans are on the right side of the bubble heading into March Madness. If MSU can take care of business down the stretch, they’ll carry momentum into tournament play.
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