Michigan State vs. UConn: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

The Michigan State Spartans and the UConn Huskies will duke it out for a place in the finals of the PK80’s Invitational’s Victory Bracket. Which national champion head coach will move on in the tournament?

TV schedule: Friday, Nov. 24, 11:59 p.m. ET. ESPN

Arena: Moda Center in Portland, Oregon

With Miles Bridges ruled out of their quarterfinals matchup with DePaul, the Michigan State Spartans (4-1) had to grind out a win against a team looking to pull off the big upset. The absence of the star player stifled the offense for Tom Izzo, as it was a tight game for the first 25 minutes.

The game would’ve been in doubt if it wasn’t for reserve guard Matt McQuaid, who had 20 points off the bench on 6/8 shooting from three-point range. He was the only Spartan who could get anything going, and the others will need to step up to take out a much-improved opponent.

The UConn Huskies (4-0) defeated the Oregon Ducks 71-63 to get to this game. It was a hard-fought battle both ways, as there were 17 lead changes throughout the game. Neither team could shoot the ball, with the Huskies shooting 38% while the Dukes shot 33% from the field.

It was Kevin Ollie’s team who prevailed on defense, forcing 17 turnovers while committing only ten. Terry Larrier was the top player for UConn, scoring a game-high 18 points and seven boards. Jalen Adams and redshirt freshman Alterique Gilbert each had 16 a piece.

On one hand, this was a signature win for Ollie, coming off a disastrous last season. With a healthy team at his disposal, he can take a program that has been stagnant since winning the national title a few years ago. On the flip side, the same weakness identified coming into the season, shooting, had still not been addressed.

Next: Preview of the PK80 Victory Bracket

Bridges is questionable coming into the game, but there’s hope that he can return for the late night game. If he does, then the Spartans should be fine. If not, things could get very dicey.

Prediction: Michigan State 73 – UConn 65