Michigan State vs Detroit Mercy: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

Michigan State host Detroit Mercy in this in-state matchup as the Spartans hope to remain undefeated.

Who:  Michigan State Spartans 3-0 Detroit Mercy Titans 0-0

When: Friday, December 4th at 5:00 pm ET

Where: Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan

TV Schedule: BTN

Rankings:  Michigan State:  #8 AP Poll, #7 Net Rankings, and #10 Kenpom
Detroit Mercy: #307 Net Rankings, and #218 Kenpom

This meeting between these two schools with be their 62nd meeting all-time between the Titans and Spartans. It will also be the first matchup between the two programs since the squared of against one another back in 2001. Michigan State has a commanding lead in the series holding a 45-16 advantage over Detroit Mercy. However, there was a time in fairly recent memory when the Titans were able to beat the Spartans three straight times from 1995 to 1997.

Michigan State currently is a team not only expecting to bring home a Big Ten title but that of a team looking to capture their third national title. Detroit Mercy is looking to take the next step and contend for a Horizon League championship. Titans coach Mike Davis has faced off against coach Tom Izzo before when he was the head coach in the Big Ten at Indiana and when he was at Texas Southern and upset and defeated Michigan State back in 2014.

Michigan State enters this game with three victories with the latest win being a road victory against top 10 ranked Duke in the State Farms Champions Classic with a 75-69 victory to remain undefeated at 3-0. Detroit Mercy due to earlier game cancellations has not played a game this season.

Michigan State has looked like a team that is overachieving thus far but in reality, this season’s team should have been valued and respected more at the beginning of the season. The Spartans unlike last season received some very encouraging news as Joshua Langford who has been dealing with injuries and has not played in any games in over two years, has been not only been able to play for the Spartans this season but has started in all of its three games.

Michigan State with Langford has had plenty of help in the backcourt this season. Junior Aaron Henry, sophomore Rocket Watts, juniors Gabe Brown, and junior Foster Loyer have had their moments and have played well for the Spartans this season.

The frontcourt has played fairly well with up and coming power forward Julius Marble having his break out game against Duke, Marquette transfer Joey Hauser is playing well this season, and juniors Marcus Bingham Jr. and Thomas Kithier have been serviceable this season as well.

The Spartans look to continue to play excellent defense, push the ball up the floor and force tempo, and finally be able to be more efficient on the offensive end at the Titans defense. Not much is known about their opponent as the Titans have not played a game yet this season and their roster is dramatically different from last season due to the number of transfers.

What we do know about Detroit Mercy is that they are led by the coach’s son, Antoine Davis who is the Titans’ star player and arguably one of the best players in the Horizon League, which the team is a member of. He is known as a scorer and the stats back it up.

Davis was indeed the fourth leading scoring in the nation last season and he led the Horizon League in scoring with just over 24 points per game. The Titans also have a lot of unknowns due to them having five players transfer out of the program and having welcomed in seven new transfers/players to the team.

The biggest impact among the transfers for the Titans will more than likely come from Taurean Thompson who started at Syracuse and then played his last two seasons at Seton Hall. At a mid-major program like Detroit Mercy, he may be able to finally display his full talent and ability to play at a high level like he had shown flashes of when he played for the Orange.

Unless Davis scores 40 plus for Detroit Mercy and their transfers have a bigger impact than expected, this game should be easily won by Michigan State. Even if coach Izzo experiments with his lineups and plays some of his less experienced players and goes deep into his bench, the Spartans’ defense and ability to score in transition should be too much for the Titans to overcome.

Prediction: Michigan State 84 Detroit Mercy 59