Biggest Keys for Michigan State Basketball vs. Oakland
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The hope for these types of games just before Christmas break is for No. 9 Michigan State to get to Detroit and just come out with a relatively comfortable victory.
MSU has its annual non-conference clash against Oakland Saturday (noon ET, BTN), and the Golden Grizzlies are as battle-tested a mid-major as it gets. The Spartans will be the fourth top-10 team Oakland will have faced already, and the fifth power conference team. OU has not pulled an upset, but it has played legitimately competitive games at current No. 6 Purdue and at UCF, while games at current No. 2 Michigan and No. 8 Houston have been blowouts.
On this pregame edition of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast, let's discuss the things Michigan State needs to do to ensure a low-drama game against Oakland. Video of the entire episode can be viewed below.
Watch the MSU Spartans Insider Podcast here:
More Keys
Dominate the Glass
Michigan State is going to look to do this no matter who it plays, but it should definitely be able to dominate the rebounding categories on Saturday. As of Friday, the Spartans are third in the country in average rebound margin (plus-13.6), while Oakland is all the way down at 302nd (minus-2.7). MSU is the bigger, stronger team, and should be able to play like it in this one.
Isaac Garrett is the Golden Grizzlies' leading rebounder this season, and he's only averaging 4.4 per game. Michigan State has four players averaging at least that much: Jaxon Kohler (10.1), Carson Cooper (7.2), Coen Carr (4.7), and Cam Ward (4.4). That advantage near the rim alone should really give MSU enough of an advantage to get to a victory.
Hit Early Threes
One great way to get some early confidence up is to make some three-pointers to get what will likely be a pro-Michigan State crowd into it and also dampen Oakland's hopes. Kohler has been MSU's best shooter thus far, shooting 47.4% from three, but two-guards Divine Ugochukwu and Kur Teng have also shot well, making 50% and 40.5% of their attempts, respectively.
The Spartans have improved greatly in this aspect from last year. Despite all the victories, the lack of three-point shooting never went away, and MSU ended up making just 31.1% of its threes last season, which was 317th nationally. Now, Michigan State is making 36.5% of its long balls, which is up to 77th in the country.
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Last Episode - Previewing MSU's Upcoming Annual Matchup vs Oakland
A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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