Michigan State vs Oakland: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Ryan Kay
Michigan State takes on Oakland in the “College Basketball in the D” in-state match-up. Let’s take a look at this matchup between two teams from the state of Michigan.
TV schedule: Saturday, December 14, 12:00 pm ET. ESPN2
Arena: Little Ceasars Arena in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan State (6-3) enters this contest coming off of a 77-65 victory in Big Ten play over Rutgers to start conference play 1-0. Oakland (5-5) have lost three of their last four games. In the Grizzlies last game, the fell just short losing to Bowling Green 68-65.
Xavier Hill-Mais, Daniel Oladipo, Kevin Kangu, and Tray Maddox Jr. leads the Oakland Grizzlies in this tough in-state showdown. Hill-Mais leads the Grizzlies in most statistical categories and he needs to have a stellar game if Oakland has a legit opportunity to defeat the Spartans. Hill-Mais can cause havoc for the Michigan State in the paint due to the power forward position being the biggest weakness for the Spartans this season overall. He also has back to back 20 plus games with a season-high 26 points in a road victory over Western Michigan on Dec. 3.
Oladipo like Hill-Mais can create a headache Michigan State down low but Xavier Tillman should be able to minimize his offensive input offensively. However, the Spartans can not take Oladipo lightly as he has the ability to have a complete game as he did at Toledo when he had 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in two-point defeat on Nov. 30.
Maddox and Kangu could give the Spartans some fits with Rocket Watts being out for this game due to injury on top of Michigan State being without their best defensive player Joshua Langford who has been out before the season due to a possible season-ending injury. However, Cassius Winston and the rest of the Spartan backcourt should be able to contain the Grizzlies guards but Michigan State should not overlook the Oakland guards because they can shoot well from beyond the arc.
Michigan State has had its ups and downs but mostly has played well thus far this season. The Spartans look to have a good December after a disappointing loss at home to Duke in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. They defeated Rutgers in their Big Ten opener and the Scarlet Knights beat Wisconsin in their next game. Michigan State should be able to defeat the trio of in-state schools in Oakland, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan as well as beating Northwestern on the road to finish out the month of December.
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There are no givens for the Spartans and Oakland is a dangerous team looking to upset Michigan State in the city of Detroit. In 2015, Oakland took Michigan State to overtime almost beating the Spartans. The Grizzlies look to make some noise nationally as they attempt to upset the Spartans. For Michigan State, they need to stay focused as they are arguably playing in the toughest conference in America. However, the Spartans should be focused and defeat Oakland in this in-state battle.