Connecticut @ Michigan St. preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2014 ) Connecticut 60, Michigan St 54

All eyes will be on Michigan State star sophomore Miles Bridges during warm-ups Friday before the No. 5 Spartans face Connecticut in the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Ore. Bridges missed Thursday’s 73-51 victory over DePaul with a sprained left ankle and will be a game-time decision against UConn, which opened the tournament with an impressive 71-63 win over Oregon.

Bridges, a preseason All-American, is averaging 19.7 points and 7.0 rebounds but surely won’t take any chances after leaving last Sunday’s win over Stony Brook with the ankle injury. “He’s doing better, he’s made a lot of progress,” coach Tom Izzo told reporters. “If it was an NCAA game I’m sure he'd play. He could return tomorrow, could be the day after, could be the day after. But he has really made some progress.” With Bridges sidelined, junior guard Matt McQuaid made his first start of the season and set career highs with 20 points and six 3-pointers as the Spartans held DePaul to 25.5 percent shooting. The Spartans will aim for another strong defensive effort against UConn, which went 16-17 last season but has regained some of its old swagger by opening with four straight wins.

TV: Midnight ET, ESPN

ABOUT UCONN (4-0): Terry Larrier scored 18 points while Alterique Gilbert and Jalen Adams added 16 apiece as the Huskies overcame a poor shooting game (3-for-17 from 3-point range) to get past Oregon, which was essentially playing before a home crowd. “It’s just a good win. We just want to keep winning, keep doing it the right way, playing the right way," coach Kevin Ollie told reporters. “Those guys went through a lot last year but they learned from it and we’re just trying to play good solid basketball.” Starting forward Eric Cobb missed Thursday’s game with a sprained left ankle and is listed as day-to-day.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (3-1): Freshman forward Jaren Jackson, Jr. continued his hot start with 13 points and 10 rebounds against DePaul while Cassius Winston and Joshua Langford added 10 apiece. Winston was 2-of-10 shooting but contributed eight rebounds and eight assists. Izzo’s rotation is limited with Bridges, swingman Kyle Ahrens (foot) and guard Kenny Goins (knee) all sidelined, but forward Connor George stepped up Thursday with a career-high seven rebounds off the bench.

TIP-INS

1. The winner advances to face No. 9 North Carolina or Arkansas in Sunday’s championship game of the Victory Bracket, while the loser will play in the third-place game.

2. UConn holds a 4-2 edge in the series, including a 60-54 victory in the Elite Eight of the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

3. Michigan State has an all-time record of 128-36 in November.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 77, UConn 63