[1:02 PM] Wichita State v. #24 Michigan State

Who will WIN this matchup?

Wichita State Shockers (5-1)

#24 Michigan State Spartans (3-3)

 

• Michigan State held a 33-30 lead at halftime Thursday against Baylor before a disastrous second half sent the Spartans to a 73-58 defeat. Talented freshman Miles Bridges (16.8 points per game) continues to be a bright spot as he led the squad with 15 points against the Bears. However, the other four starters combined to score 18 points on 6-of-19 shooting – a story that the Shockers can certainly sympathize with. The Wichita State starters shot a collective 11-of-37 in Thursday’s ugly 62-52 defeat to No. 10 Louisville.

• The Spartans had won three straight, including an 11-point win over St. John’s in Wednesday’s tournament opener, before the ugly collapse against Baylor. Since scoring a career-high 31 points against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday, senior guard Eron Harris has shot 4-of-22 in the last two outings. Starting forward Kenny Goins scored nine points against Kentucky on Nov. 15 but has totaled six points in the last four games.

• The Shockers shot poorly from the field (31.6 percent), the arc (6-of-22) and the foul line (10-of-18) in Thursday’s setback as no player scored more than 10 points. They also were outrebounded 46-33 in their poorest performance – and first loss – of the young season. Wichita State had won each of its previous five games by at least 27 points but managed only 17 points versus Louisville in the first half and couldn’t recover after intermission.

• Since going 11-of-14 from 3-point range in a two-game stretch earlier this month, Harris has missed 11 of his last 14 long-range attempts.

• Wichita State had been shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from the arc prior to its poor performance on Thursday.

 

StreakSmarts Pick: #24 Michigan State Spartans

Confidence: 5/10

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