EAST LANSING— No. 20 Michigan State men’s basketball and Oakland will be going head-to-head on Tuesday in Detroit at Little Cesears Arena.
The Spartans lead the all-time series 22-0 over the Golden Grizzlies. MSU and Oakland have met at Little Caesars Arena three times before, the most recent being in 2021.
The closest the Golden Grizzlies have come to taking down the Spartans was in 2010 when they lost by one, 77-76, at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
MSU is 8-2 on the season and currently on a three-game win streak. In its last game against Nebraska on Dec. 7, senior guard Jaden Akins led with 18 points and freshman guard Jase Richardson followed with 16 points.
Sophomore forward Xavier Booker also had a double-digit game with 11, which were all scored in the second half. Junior forward Jaxon Kohler led with 12 rebounds and redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. led in assists with eight.
Offensively, the Spartans are shooting 48.2% in the paint, 27.2% from behind the arc and 80.4% from the free throw line. They currently are averaging 18.2 assists per game, 12 turnovers and 41 rebounds.
Scouting Oakland
Oakland is 3-5 on the season thus far, most recently falling in its first conference match-up 66-50 to Youngstown State on Dec. 7. Graduate forward Allen Mukeba led the Golden Grizzlies with 17 points, five rebounds and one block.
Mukeba leads Oakland in points this season, averaging 13.6 per game. Senior forward Buru Naivalurua and senior guard DQ Cole also are averaging in double-digits with 12.6 points per game and 11.1 points per game respectively.
The Golden Grizzlies are currently shooting 41.4% in the paint, 25.3% from behind the arc and 61.6% from the free throw line. They’re averaging 34.6 rebounds per game, 10.3 assists, 10.9 turnovers, 6.4 steals and 2.3 blocks.
Oakland has already matched up against two other Big Ten teams, now-No. 24 Michigan and Illinois. The Golden Grizzlies lost 92-48 to the Wolverines in an exhibition at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 20, they also lost to the Fighting Illini on Nov. 13, 66-54, at the State Farm Center.
This match-up is set to tip-off on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tune into the live radio broadcast featuring Matt Merrifield and Oscar Henderson locally on 88.9 FM or at impact89fm.org/listen-live/.
