In game four of a five-game homestand, MSU men’s basketball (7-4 overall) will face Northeastern University (5-5 overall). The match will be a part of a school tripleheader, as the two are also slated to face off in women's basketball and ice hockey.
MSU will put its three-game winning streak on the line as the team continues to be without freshman forward Miles Bridges, who is still in a walking boot after the loss against the then-No. 5 Duke Blue Devils on Nov. 29 in Durham, N.C.
Bridges still leads the Spartans in points with 16.6 points per game and rebounds with 8.8 rebounds per game.
In the Spartans' last victory against Tennessee Tech, sophomore guard Matt McQuaid was sidelined because of concussion-like symptoms after accidentally colliding with freshman forward Nick Ward in practice, head coach Tom Izzo said. McQuaid has been practicing and is read to play, Izzo said.
In his fourth straight start of the season, sophomore guard Kyle Ahrens will look to continue his production boost. Against the Golden Eagles, Ahrens tied his career high in points with nine while adding in a team-high seven rebounds. Ahrens set his career-high in minutes played with 27 minutes as well.
MSU’s other three freshmen — Ward, along with guards Joshua Langford and Cassius Winston — will look to continue their rise as the focal point of this Spartan team. Winston has already demonstrated his passing ability, leading the team with 5.5 assists per game. In MSU’s homestand, Winston has notched nine assists in each of the three games so far.
Ward will continue to be the focal point for inside scoring. He leads the team in shooting percentage, 61.9 percent, and is averaging 14.2 points per game in his last five games.
Langford will look to have three straight games of double-digit scoring.
The Huskies will come into East Lansing with upset hopes in mind. Earlier this season, Northeastern went to Storrs, Conn. and defeated the University of Connecticut, 64-61.
Northeastern is led by senior guard T.J. Williams, who averages a team-high 21.9 points per game and leads the team in assists with six per game.
The Huskies feature two other double-digit scorers, senior forward Alex Murphy with 14.8 points per game and sophomore forward Jeremy Miller with 10.1 points per game. Murphy also leads the Huskies in rebounds with six per game.
Both teams average similar points per game so far this season. MSU averages 72.2 points per game and Northeastern averages 73.2 points per game. Both teams also share the struggle of making free throws. In MSU’s last game, the Spartans shot 17-30 from the free-throw line for 56.7 percent. On the season, the Spartans average 61.4 percent from the charity stripe. The Huskies miss their fair share of free throws, averaging 68 percent as a team.
The game and tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Dec. 18 at Breslin Center and it will be televised on Big Ten Network.
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