Stony Brook @ Michigan St. preview

No. 2 Michigan State looks to bounce back after a disappointing loss to No. 1 Duke when it returns home to host Stony Brook on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans fell to the Blue Devils on Tuesday in the Champions Classic in Chicago for their first loss of the season, while the Seawolves are looking for their first victory of the campaign.

Forward Miles Bridges leads a balanced Michigan State offense, averaging 19.5 points, while fellow sophomore Nick Ward is scoring 17.5 per contest. Tom Izzo also has one of the top freshmen in the country in Jaren Jackson Jr., who is averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 blocks, helping to anchor a solid interior defense. The guard combination of Cassius Winston (7.5 points, 9.5 assists) and Joshua Langford (11.0 points) is solid as well, though the two struggled shooting the 3-pointer against Duke, combining to go 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Stony Brook is paced by 6-6 swingman Akwasi Yeboah (12.7 points) and 6-7 forward Tyrell Sturdivant (12.3), but with no one above 6-7 on the roster, the Seawolves could struggle against the taller Spartans.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT STONY BROOK (0-3): The Seawolves are winless, but coach Jeff Boals can certainly take heart in his team holding the lead at halftime of its last two contests, against Connecticut and Ball State. Unfortunately, the Stony Brook defense has fallen off in the final 20 minutes of both contests, allowing the Huskies to shoot 71.4 percent from the field and the Cardinals to hit 68 percent. Boals pointed to the Seawolves' energy level being higher in the first half of the Ball State loss and dropping off in the second half, something he hopes to change in the future.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (1-1): One of the reputations of Izzo-coached teams over the years has been the ability to get to the boards and outwork other teams under the glass. The loss to Duke showed that this season's edition needs to work on that after the Blue Devils grabbed more offensive rebounds (25) than the Spartans had on the defensive glass (23) and outrebounded Michigan State by 12 overall. The team had five days off between the loss and facing Stony Brook, and Izzo will certainly used the time to have his team focused on improving their numbers on the boards going forward.

TIP-INS

1. Michigan State has an all-time mark of 83-3 at home in November, with the last loss coming to David Robinson and Navy in November 1986.

2. Ward leads the Spartans in field-goal percentage, hitting 73.7 percent of his attempts through two games.

3. The Spartans will be without reserve F Kenny Goins for a couple weeks after he suffered a knee strain in practice.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 88, Stony Brook 70