Michigan State Basketball Prediction vs UCLA: Spartans in battle

On February 5, 2025By Littum

Los Angeles – Eric Musselman went out of his press conference, just as Tom Izzo arrived to replace him on DAIS, shake hands and exchanged quick pleasures.

One a first-year Big Ten coach in a first-year Big Ten-Nykommer who learns about the league. The other a 30-year-old veteran with 352 conference winner and an entire career value of film to study.

But when Mussan’s southern California faith joins stepped on their home floor at the Galen Center on Saturday afternoon, in front of a particular Pro-Michigan State audience, they did something that few have been able to do this season.

They flummed Izzo’s Spartans from the jump.

“With their falcon defense on our ball screens, they just had to jump jacks (in the paint),” said Senior Jaden Akins after No. 9 MSU’s 70-64 loss to click on a 13-match victory. “We were stagnant by first figuring it out. And then we started to find out, but we dug a 15-point hole. So it was tough. “

Mussan’s defensive game plan led to early offensive rebounds and second chance points along with presenting a sustained disturbance of a fastbreak that has been one of the Spartans’ staples to their success this season. His Trojans also kept them for a season-low scoring production.

Fixing this transition attack will be a key to maintaining the Big Ten lead for MSU (18-3, 9-1) as it plays over the city on Tuesday night at UCLA (16-6, 7-4). Tipoff is at. 22.00 EDT and will only be streamed on NBC’s Peacock app.

The Spartans entered the USCS Galen Center, which led the nation at 18.5 Fastbreak Points per year. Match. They only succeeded nine against the Trojans and fell to number two in Division I at 18.05 after their sixth match this season and fourth in the eight games in 2025.

“I think they were just out of hard,” said beginner Jase Richardson after Saturday’s loss. “They started early, got a lot of offensive rebounds on us. We didn’t get a stop. We did not attack offensively as we should, and that just led them to go early in the race. “

The USC used a plan that MSU should be wary of other opponents who decided to move on.

Musselman called his plan “Paintball/goalkeeper rules” that trust to leave Coen Carr and Szymon Zapala alone as they touched the ball away from the basket, thus using their defender to clog the middle and make things difficult for the remaining postal players to establish position Down Low or MSU’s perimeter players to attack the curve from the dribbling. It also meant throwing some zone concepts to a defensive Hodgepodge son of former NBA coach Bill Musselman, who was also used against Duke’s Mark Mitchell last year while coaching in Arkansas.

It was a Ploy Musselman called “A Gamble” that worked “especially early in the game.” And his prevailing themes were about playing solid transitional defenses while not losing offensive rebounding aggressiveness, preventing the Spartans from tearing defensive boards and getting the ball into the hands of their guards to take off quickly.

“Just when I got the job, everyone talked about coach Izzo’s transition game. “You are really surprised at how fast they take it for brands,” Musselman said. “So many teams send people back to defense. And I told the team that crashes the glass – even if you just deflate the ball, it can help. So you have two things to do either go to the glass or get back. And we felt that our under -dimensioned guys might be able to respond a bigger, slower guy. “

The USC had three offensive rebounds in the first five minutes on the way to build a 22-7 lead. After MSU cut it back to a three-point game, the Trojans grabbed two more in a late-and-half possession that led to a 3-pointer that brought Spartans’ comeback attempts. Akins said USC players “always knocked on the ball or got the offensive rebound so it was hard to run.”

Nor did it help that MSU turned the ball over on his first two belongings of the game and seven times in the first half, while its defense struggled to stop the USC in the paint. The Trojans had 34 points in the paint, 18 of them in the first half and ended with 10 offensive rebounds.

“We didn’t stop,” said Carr, there nine points, but only two boards. “When we get a stop and we get clean rebounds, it’s when we run our break. We did it a few times in it and we got some layups, we got some mistakes or whatever. But we got no stop on the defensive side and pure rebound, so our break wasn’t really able to get to it. “

MSUS 13 revenue for the game led directly to 12 USC points.

“We didn’t get out and ran because you can’t run without the ball,” said Izzo. “I think their offensive rebounding had a lot to do with it, so give them credit there.”

UCLA presents a more favorable matchup, although one that will not be easy. Especially as Bruins is on a five-game victory and has not played since won last Monday at the USC.

MSU is 1-3 on Pauley and loses Izzo’s only game there in 2003. It was Spartans’ only game there since 1960, and they are 4-7 all the time against UCLA. They beat John Wooden at Pauley Pavilion in 1957, but lost three other times against the Wizard of Westwood.

Cronin’s Bruins caught the last meeting with MSU in overtime, 86-80, in the 2021 NCAA tournament first four at the Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. UCLA eventually moved on to Final Four that season.

“We just have to realize the things we did wrong and accept it, but don’t leave it hanging in our next game,” Akins said after the USC game. “We have to learn from this game and move on from there.”

Forecast

UCLA 69, MSU 67: The Spartans face another defensive -oriented team in Bruins, which ranks 21. At 64.5 points permitted per year. Fight and 10. With 16.18 revenue forced per Match. MSU’s guards are struggling to get started again, and the exterior shooting -tender continues as Izzo returns home that still needs two wins to pass Bob Knight’s record of 353 Big Ten conference victories.

Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @Chrissolari.

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Next up: Bruins

Matchup: No. 9 Michigan State (18-3, 9-1 Big Ten) at UCLA (16-6, 7-4).

Tipoff: 22:00 Tuesday; Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles.

TV/Radio: Peacock (only online, no broadcast); WJR-AM (760).