EAST LANSING – Almost every year, right around this time, Tom Izzo laments his decision.
Yes, the holiday season remains about giving, and Izzo and Michigan State basketball have given Greg Kampe and Oakland ample opportunities to play the blueblood over the past 25-plus years. The Spartans helped open the O’Rena back in 1998 the first time they met, then ventured to Auburn Hills and Detroit as well as of course welcoming the Golden Grizzlies to campus almost annually.
So far, MSU owns a sterling 22-0 record against its sister school.
So when Izzo second-guesses his scheduling of Oakland, it’s half tongue-in-cheek. But also half that he knows someday, the Grizzlies will break through and get their long-anticipated win over the Spartans.
“As we all know, whether they’ve been really good – which they have some – or not as good, the game has always been a very difficult game. So there’s much respect there,” Izzo said after practice Friday. “I don’t know why I keep doing it. I keep saying that, but I do enjoy going to Detroit to play. I do enjoy (Kampe) a lot, and I do respect their program.”
No. 19 MSU (8-2, 2-0 Big Ten) and Oakland (3-5, 1-1 Horizon League) will meet Tuesday night for the 23rd time. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena (ESPN2).
It’s part of a three-game holiday break for the Spartans, who host Florida Atlantic on Dec. 21 and Western Michigan on Dec. 30 before resuming Big Ten play Jan. 3 at Ohio State. Neither team has played in 10 days, since MSU’s 37-point home blowout win over Nebraska and the Grizzlies’ 16-point road loss at Youngstown State, both on Dec. 7.
The Spartans beat the Golden Grizzlies at Breslin Center last season, 79-62, on Dec. 18, 2023. That was two days after MSU, 10 games into its 20-15 season, got back to .500 at Little Caesars Arena with a 22-point, nationally televised blowout of then-No. 6 Baylor.
SPARTANS HOLD STRONG: Michigan tumbles in top 25 college basketball rankings, Michigan State holds
“I feel like we’re in a better position this year than last year around this time,” said senior guard Jaden Akins, whose 13 points a game lead MSU. “I feel like last year, everybody was a little down and just trying to find ourselves. And right now, I feel like the team has good energy, and we’re really well-connected right now. So we just trying to not get too comfortable and keep improving.”
Izzo is 5-1 at LCA since it opened in 2017, with the lone loss a second-round 2017 NCAA tournament defeat to Syracuse. Three of those wins have come over the Golden Grizzlies, who are considered the home team in these games.
With Izzo making his NCAA tournament record 26th straight appearance, advancing again to the second round, it was Oakland that stole the March spotlight. Oakland knocked off No. 3 seed Kentucky in Pittsburgh and nearly advancing to the program’s first Sweet 16 before falling to 11-seed North Carolina State in overtime two days later.
Even though Kampe ended another one of his close coaching friend’s time with Kentucky as John Calipari left the Wildcats for Arkansas after losing the first-round game, Izzo said he was cheering for his home-state brethren while his team was playing in North Carolina.
“Just got a lot of good things to say. And I hate saying good things about a team I got to play, but I really do,” Izzo said of Kampe and his program. “I think he’s been a gem for us in this state. And last year was the pinnacle of it, what he did and what he almost did. God, that was an exciting run. I was cheering for him hard.”
Missouri-Kansas City transfer forward Allen Mukeba leads Oakland at 13.6 points with 5.6 rebounds, while forward Buru Naivalurua averages 12.6 points and 7.6 boards. Guard DQ Cole adds 11.1 points a game.
Izzo now has one of Kampe’s players from last year’s team, Blake Lampman from nearby Haslett, on his staff this fall as a graduate assistant. He planned to pick the former guard’s brain about how to solve his old coach’s chaos-inspired zone defense that Izzo said he has had a hard time figuring out – and joked if his good buddy Kampe even knows what should be happening.
“I would say the zone that they play the majority of the game, it’s like an extended zone,” said Akins, who scored 11 points last year against the Grizzlies. “So you got to be strong with the ball and look to attack when you get the ball to the middle.”
Prediction
MSU 87, Oakland 68: The Spartans’ perimeter defense continues to keep the Grizzlies’ outside shooters from finding a rhythm, Oakland enters making just 25.3% from deep, but MSU improves on its 27.2% 3-point numbers by continuing to get Akins, Tre Holloman and others open looks with the crisp ball movement of the entire 10-player rotation that puts the game away midway through the second half.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Next up: Golden Grizzlies
Matchup: No. 19 Michigan State (8-2) vs. Oklahoma (3-5).
Tipoff: 7 p.m. Tuesday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
TV/radio: ESPN2; WJR-AM (760).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball seeks to keep perfect record against Oakland
