EAST LANSING– No. 17 Michigan State men’s basketball is back at the Breslin Center to host the Detroit Mercy Titans on Friday.
Coming off a big win on a national stage in the Champions Classic, the Spartans will need to remain focused against Detroit Mercy, even if they are a sizable favorite.
This is the first game of the season that MSU is expected to win by a wide margin, as Detroit Mercy’s lone victory is against Cleary University, an NAIA program.
The Spartans’ depth was decisive in their victory over Kentucky, in this matchup the bench will have even more opportunity to get playing time.
Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has been the leader of the offense to make it run efficiently and leads the country in assists. However, the backup point guard position hasn’t shown much promise between transfers Divine Ugochukwu and Denhamm Wojcik. Expect Fears Jr. to take a step back on Friday, to give the newcomers extended runs at leading the offense.
Senior forward Jaxon Kohler has been a problem for opposing defenses in the post this season. MSU’s leading scorer has taken a leap which has doubled his points per game average from 7.8 to 15.8.
Shooting has been the biggest question for the Spartans’ offense, but they finally took the lid off the rim against Kentucky after making a season-high 11 three-pointers. If that type of shooting performance can continue, MSU will have a solid chance of contending for back-to-back Big Ten Championships.
The Titans’ offense is led by three guards that average over 10 points per game. Senior guard Orlando Lovejoy leads the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game and enters this game after a 20-point performance in a loss against Eastern Michigan.
Mercy already has experience against a power conference opponent, Notre Dame. It wasn’t much of a contest, as the Fighting Irish by 32 points earlier this season.
The Spartans’ have had issues extending leads in the second half. Against San Jose State, a 23-point halftime lead was cut to 10 in the second half. Spartans head coach Tom Izzo has emphasised not letting up and playing a full 40-minute game.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., catch the Impact 89FM broadcast with Joe Dez and Jack Stager on the call here: https://impact89fm.org/?radio_player=3&index=0
