If ever there were a nonleague matchup where the home power conference team could have trouble with a visiting mid-major squad, the Tuesday tilt between Samford and Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., would be a leading candidate.
Picked to win the Southern Conference at the beginning of the season, Samford (4-1) is coming off a season in which it went 29-6 and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.
The Bulldogs have high expectations again this year, with returnees Collin Holloway and Rylan Jones being named to the preseason all-conference team and Jaden Brownell (Illinois-Chicago) and Trey Fort (Mississippi State) headlining a group of transfers.
Brownell (15.6 points per game) is the team’s leading scorer through five games, with Fort and Holloway tied for second at 12.4 ppg.
The biggest obstacle Samford might have to overcome is fatigue, given the Bulldogs played on Sunday, earning a 97-82 home win over Texas Southern.
Samford coach Bucky McMillan said given the short turnaround, players taking care of themselves and recovering will be a big priority.
“They obviously are a very good team,” McMillan said of the Spartans. “They’ve got a lot of size. It’s going to take all the energy we have in that game.”
Samford will hope to pull the upset over a Michigan State team that was tested severely on Saturday in an 86-72 home win over Bowling Green.
The Spartans (3-1) trailed 72-68 before ending the game on an 18-0 run.
The biggest strength so far for Michigan State has been balanced scoring. Seven players scored in double figures against Bowling Green. For the season, three players are within one point of the team lead (Jaden Akins is at 12.0 ppg while Frankie Fidler and Jaxon Kohler are at 11.8).
Eventually though, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo hopes a go-to scorer or two can emerge.
“I don’t know if we can keep it going, but it sure is nice to know that we have different guys that can score it in different ways,” Izzo said. “We got to keep just riding that horse until a couple guys break out and start really making shots, and then we’ll go from there.”
