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The Big Ten opens up our Sunday with a nationally televised matchup between the Michigan State Spartans (11-7, 3-4 Big Ten) and the Maryland Terrapins (11-7, 3-4 Big Ten). Michigan State is coming off a home win over Minnesota 76-66, but did not cover the spread as 11.5-point favorites. Maryland just dopped a close game on the road, going down to Northwestern 72-69, but covered the 4.5-point spread as underdogs. These teams only met once last season with Michigan State winning by five at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 EST from the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland and can be found on CBS.
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The Michigan State Spartans recently had their back against the wall as they were 1-4 in league play and in danger of falling out of contention. The Spartans came back and won their next two games at home, defeating Rutgers and Minnesota both by double figures. They now face Maryland with a chance to get back to .500 and continue to climb the Big Ten standings. In their most recent win over Minnesota, the Spartans were led by guard Tyson Walker with 21 points in the win.
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— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) January 19, 2024
Walker is the third leading scorer in the Big Ten at 20.0 PPG as a 6'1 senior guard. He is the top shooter on the team with 36 made threes on 39.6% shooting from distance. Walker has scored 20 or more in four of his last six games, with a high of 27 against Northwestern. AJ Hoggard is a point guard with good size at 6'4, the senior is scoring 11.2 PPG and getting a team high 5.2 APG. Hoggard has been quiet in his last two games, he did not score more than eight in the past two wins. Their top frontcourt player is 6'8 senior Malik Hall, he averages 11.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG. Their final scorer in double figures is 6'4 sophomore guard Jaden Akins with 10.7 PPG and adds another 4.1 RPG.
Michigan State is currently ranked 18th overall according to KenPom. They rank 25th in offensive efficiency and 24th in defensive efficiency. The Spartans play slow on offense, they rank 279th in tempo based on their pace of play. Michigan State is currently projected to be an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament in Bracketology.
Injury Report: None listed that would impact the depth chart.