Long Beach St. @ Michigan St. preview

No. 2 Michigan State looks to extend its winning streak to 11 games when it hosts non-conference foe Long Beach State on Thursday. The Spartans are coming off an easy 45-point victory over Houston Baptist on Monday, while the 49ers have dropped two of three - including a home setback against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

Forward Gabe Levin leads Long Beach State in scoring, as he is averaging 15.1 points along with 7.7 rebounds, but the most dangerous players for the team in this one could be guards Bryan Alberts (14 points) and Jordan Griffin (9.2) - both of whom are shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range. The long-distance success will be needed against a Michigan State front line that is averaging 6.3 blocks from its three starters. Forward Miles Bridges is coming off one of his best scoring efforts for the Spartans, a 33-point performance against Houston Baptist that tied his career best. Forward Nick Ward (14.3 points, 6.8 rebounds) is a beast on the interior, while point guard Cassius Winston (13 points, 6.8 assists, 57.7 percent 3-point shooting) has started to emerge as the team’s closer in close games.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network Plus

ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE (5-8): While coach Dan Monson was happy about his team’s offensive showing against Eastern Michigan, he was not pleased with the defense, which allowed 53 percent shooting and 85 points in the loss. Part of the squad's improvement has come in the turnover department, according to Monson, who would like to see his defense be more disruptive. The 49ers caused 12 turnovers by Eastern Michigan but scored only four points off the miscues, compared to 20 points off turnovers for the Eagles.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (11-1): It’s been a problem before, and coach Tom Izzo can’t be happy about his team giving up 24 offensive rebounds to Houston Baptist, which is not exactly Duke – a team that recorded 25 such boards against the Spartans in their only loss of the season. Part of it could be attributed to Michigan State feeling confident enough against the Huskies and wanting to get out on the break, but that’s not going to pacify Izzo, who most certainly will be pointing out the rebound numbers to his team. Michigan State did win the overall battle on the boards 43-39, but when five different Houston Baptist players finish with three or more rebounds off the offensive glass, it’s a team problem - one the Spartans need to fix against better competition.

TIP-INS

1. Levin passed the 1,000-point plateau for his collegiate career when he scored 22 in the loss to Eastern Michigan.

2. Michigan State set a school record for blocks in a game with 16 against Houston Baptist, breaking the previous mark of 13 recorded in 1984-85 and matched earlier this season against Rutgers.

3. The Spartans shot a season-best 64.3 percent against Houston Baptist, including a season-high 50 percent from 3-point range.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 88, Long Beach State 67