Back in action for the first time since that Samford scare last week, Michigan State basketball faces the toughest in-season tournament field in the country starting on Monday with Colorado.
The Spartans will face the Buffaloes to start the Maui Invitational with either Memphis or UConn waiting in the second round. A win for Michigan State over Colorado will likely mean a matchup with UConn on Tuesday, barring a massive upset by Memphis, and a loss will pin the Spartans against the Tigers. Winning would set up a massive prove-it game for the Spartans.
This tournament is not going to be easy, but Tom Izzo is no stranger to elite in-season tournaments and winning them — just look at what he did at the PK80.
Michigan State is hoping to get off to a hot start on Monday. So let’s get bold.
In five games with the Spartans, Frankie Fidler has been solid and consistent. He’s averaging 11.8 points and 3.8 rebounds but fans were expecting a little more from one of the country’s top scorers last season from Omaha. He averaged 20.1 points and 6.3 boards for Omaha last season and we’ve yet to really see that version of him.
A lot of that has to do with his struggles shooting the ball. Right now, he’s making just 29 percent of his field goals and 15 percent from deep.
That changes on Monday.
Fidler is going to hit the 20-point mark for the first time as a Spartan and he’ll add six rebounds and a couple of big threes. He’s going to finally have his MSU breakout game.
Jaxon Kohler has been rather quiet over the past couple of games despite entering the starting lineup alongside Szymon Zapala. He’s taken just five total shots, making three of them, and he’s 8-for-8 from the free throw line. He’s really not looking for his own offense.
But that needs to change.
I see the offense feeding him early and often on Monday evening as he scores in double figures for the fourth time this season and he grabs more than 10 rebounds for the third time. He’ll secure his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 boards on Monday.
Do I think Colorado is a bad team? Absolutely not. But Michigan State is sick of hearing how it can’t seem to start games hot and it’ll take that frustration out on the Buffaloes.
Michigan State will race out to a 6-0 lead before Colorado scores its first basket and then It’ll just cruise into halftime with a six-point advantage after going up by as much as 12 in the first half. The Spartans will hold on in the second half and build on that lead, never relinquishing it for the entirety of the game, winning by 12. They’ll cover the 7.5-point spread, and then some.
