3 bold predictions for Michigan State basketball vs. Memphis in Maui

We are just hours away from tipoff of round two of the Maui Invitational. Michigan State basketball will take on a Memphis team that is undefeated and just beat the No. 2 team in the country on Monday.

The Spartans know they will have to find their stroke from distance here soon or it’s going to be a long outing on Tuesday evening. They need to shoot much better than 2-for-21 like they did on Monday which just added to the horrific start from 3-point range this season. On the year, the Spartans are shooting just 20 percent from long range. Awful.

Memphis, on the other hand, is shooting 49 percent from the floor and they’re averaging about 85 points per game. Colorado averaged and shot about the same before playing the Spartans, so we’ll see if Michigan State’s defense steps up to the plate once again.

Let’s get bold.

This is starting to feel like a not-so-bold prediction, but seeing a freshman with this big of a role under Tom Izzo deserves all the recognition. Jase Richardson led Michigan State with 13 points on Monday against Colorado and he’s going to break the 10-point mark once again on Tuesday with 12 points on over 50 percent shooting — again.

Richardson is as reliable as they come and it’s impressive to see him doing this after suffering what looked to be a scary injury against Samford last week.

While we saw just one Spartan score in double figures on Monday (Richardson), we’re going to see more on Tuesday and while one will be the same, the other will be senior leader Jaden Akins.

The senior guard from Farmington, Mich., had an off game, of sorts, against Colorado, scoring just four points with three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. I won’t call it a “bad” game because he wasn’t really hunting for his shot and he was really solid defensively, but he needs to do more on the offensive end of the floor.

Once again, he’ll shake off a so-so performance and wash it down with a 20-point outing. He’ll lead all scorers on Tuesday which means he’ll probably be around 23 or 24 points.

I made this prediction on Monday for the Colorado game because the Buffaloes were averaging about 85 points per game and shooting about 48 percent from the floor and it ended up hitting. So why not ride the hot hand (the Michigan State defense) and predict it against an even more potent offensive team?

Memphis just scored 99 against the No. 2 team in the country and has been held under 80 just one time this season but Michigan State’s defense has been playing on another level lately.

Michigan State is going to hold the Tigers not just under 70 but under 65 which would be their lowest point total of the season — the Spartans are good at holding teams to their lowest point total.

Oh, and Michigan State wins.