Michigan State basketball at USC tipoff: Matchup analysis and a prediction

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USC’s Desmond Glaude, a transfer from Xavier, had 34 points in the Trojans’ win at Illinois.

• What: Michigan State at USC

• When: 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday

• Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles

• TV/Radio: Streaming on Peacock/Spartan Sports Network radio, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM; SiriusXM Ch. 195 (MSU broadcast), 372 (USC broadcast)

• Records/Rankings: MSU is 18-2 overall, 9-0 in the Big Ten and ranked No. 7 in both the Coaches Poll and in The Associated Press Poll, and is No. 14 per the college basketball analytics site Kenpom.com. USC is 12-8 overall, 4-5 in the Big Ten and unranked in the polls. The Trojans are No. 67 nationally, per Kenpom.

• Projected betting line: MSU -5 (via Kenpom’s projection, which is how Vegas sets the betting line these days)

• Coaches: Michigan State — Tom Izzo is 725-297 in his 30th season as a head coach, all with the Spartans. USC — Eric Musselman is 232-101 in his 10th season as a collegiate head coach. This is his first season with the Trojans after stops at Arkansas and Nevada. He also coached the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.

• Series: MSU leads 4-3 all-time. This is their first meeting as Big Ten foes. Most recently they met in the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament, with MSU winning 72-62.

Projected lineups

MSU

C (10) Szymon Zapala (7-0) 5.6

F (0) Jaxon Kohler (6-9) 7.6

G (3) Jaden Akins (6-4) 13.6

G (5) Tre Holloman (6-2) 8.3

PG (1) Jeremy Fears Jr. (6-2) 7.6

USC

C (33) Josh Cohen (6-10) 7.4

F (7) Chibuzo Agbo (6-7) 11.6

F (0) Saint Thomas (6-7) 11.1

G (6) Wesley Yates (6-4) 11.4

G (1) Desmond Claude (6-6) 16.1

• MSU update: The Spartans head into February having won 13 straight, without dropping a single game in December or January. If they win one more, Tom Izzo will tie Bob Knight’s Big Ten wins record. With a win Saturday, he could break the record Tuesday night at UCLA. MSU is unbeaten in league play for a number of reasons, but its defensive numbers really stand out — No. 1 in defensive…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-basketball-usc-tipoff-110422011.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2025-01-31 11:04:00

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