Michigan St. @ Oakland preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 21, 2016 ) Oakland 65, Michigan St 77

No. 2 Michigan State returns to the court after nearly a week off to face non-conference foe Oakland at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday as part of the 2017 Hitachi College Basketball Showcase. The Spartans have recorded eight straight wins, including a 25-point rout of Southern Utah in their most recent contest on Sunday, while the Golden Grizzlies also have had a week off since defeating Chicago State by 32 points last Saturday.

Michigan State has been one of the top defensive teams in the country, holding teams to 61.3 points per game and 33.1 percent shooting. Offensively, the Spartans have a balanced attack led by Miles Bridges (15.6 points), who is as dangerous from behind the 3-point line as he is driving to the hoop. Fellow sophomore Nick Ward (13.7 points, 64.1 percent shooting) provides the post threat for Michigan State, while guards Joshua Langford (12.9 points) and Cassius Winston (12.7, 61 percent 3-point shooting, 6.7 assists) provide firepower from the perimeter. Oakland forward Jalen Hayes is coming off a two-game stretch during which he averaged 25.5 points and 10 rebounds, while guards Kendrick Nunn and Martez Walker are the main offensive weapons for coach Greg Kampe as they are averaging 21.7 and 21.2 points, respectively.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (9-1): Tom Izzo's teams always have been known for their hard-nosed defense, but things are different this season as the Spartans have incorporated the blocked shot into their arsenal. Michigan State is second in the nation in blocks with 83, with first-place Minnesota's 90 coming in two more contests, and freshman Jaren Jackson Jr. is on pace to break the school's single-season record of 72 with his average of three blocks. It's not just Jackson, as Ward (15) and Bridges (14) also are contributing, and the presence of multiple shot-blockers in the middle means the team's perimeter defenders can take more chances knowing they have rim protection behind them.

ABOUT OAKLAND (6-4): While Kampe's squad has three big scorers in Nunn, Walker and Hayes (19.3 points), the team still is hovering around .500 because its defense hasn't been able to shut down opponents. Oakland is allowing 79.3 points - eighth in the 10-team Horizon League - and permitting teams to shoot 46 percent as it has a league-worst minus-2.3 turnover margin. The scoring average is skewed a bit by a 102-59 loss at Kansas, but the Golden Grizzlies also just gave up 95 points to Eastern Michigan two games ago, so a renewed attention to the defensive end of the floor is going to be needed if they are to put together some wins.

TIP-INS

1. Nunn, the Horizon League's leading scorer this season after transferring from Illinois, played Michigan State four times while with the Illini and averaged 6.5 points.

2. The Spartans held Southern Utah to 32.3 percent shooting in their most recent contest, marking the eighth time this season an opponent has shot below 40 percent.

3. Michigan State has won neutral-site matchups against Oakland twice in the last four seasons, with a total winning margin of 10 points - including an overtime affair in December 2015, when the Spartans were No. 1 in the country.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 82, Oakland 68