One of the season's first marquee matchups of the 2022-23 college basketball season will take place on Friday night on board the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego, California. The Michigan State Spartans (1-0) will take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (1-0) will do battle as part of the Armed Forces Classic. The Spartans, a perennial Top-25 team, come into the season unranked while Gonzaga enters the season ranked second in the nation. The opening tap for this rare, outdoor matchup is set for 6:30pm EST.
The NFL, College Football, College Basketball, the NHL, and the NBA…oh my! Check out all my premium picks for a variety of premium events. My Best Bet of the week is available for only $49.99 (normally $100) if you use this link. Don't miss out as this comes with a profit guarantee. Win or get the money back in credit!
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo enters his 28th season with the team, making him now the second longest tenured coach in college basketball behind Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. Izzo's teams have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 24 years and, given this year's roster, there isn't any indication that this year's team will be any exception. Izzo continues to be a proponent of the old recruiting style and has not gotten heavily involved in the transfer portal. In fact, this year's team does not contain any transfers. What the team has done is bring in some of the most heavily touted freshman in the country. MSU welcomes in five-star power forward Xavier Booker, shooting guard Gehrig Normand and point guard Jeremy Fears, Jr.
“I like my team,” Izzo told . “I don’t like my depth, but I don’t know if anybody’s going to have depth anymore. I really like that our chemistry has been off the charts. I’m liking where we are in a lot of ways. Last year, we were suspect at the guards. This year, I think our strength will be at the guards.”
The projected starters for the Spartans are F Joey Hauser, G A.J. Hoggard, G Tyson Walker, F Malik Hall and C Mady Sissoko.
?? U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln pic.twitter.com/2EiY7wCCUT
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) November 10, 2022
On Monday night, in their home opener, the Spartans rolled over Northern Arizona, 73-55. Hauser had a double-double in the opener with 18 points and 10 rebounds while guard Pierre Brooks dropped 14 points off the bench in the run-away win. Hauser finished 6-of-12 from the floor overall and 4-of-8 from the 3pt line. Guard A.J. Hoggard had nine points and eight assists as well. MSU finished the night shooting 45% overall and winning the rebounding battle, 47-36. Izzo's team also turned the ball over just nine times in the game. The Spartans finished with 18 second-chance points and out-scored Northern Arizona, 34-16, in the paint.