Michigan State Spartans vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction & Match Preview - December 9, 2020

Match Details

Fixture: Michigan State Spartans vs. Virginia Cavaliers - NCAA Men's Basketball- ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Date & Time: Wednesday, December 9th, 2020, 9:15 PM ET

Venue: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Virginia

The No.4 Michigan State Spartans vs. the No. 18 Virginia Cavaliers will close out the 2020 ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday night. The Cavaliers will look to break into the top 10 and control the pace of play against the Spartans.

Michigan State Spartans Preview

The Michigan State Spartans (5-0) are looking to continue moving up the rankings as they are coming off a 3-0 week, including knocking off the Duke Blue Devils for the first time in their program's history.

🚨 No. 8 Michigan State takes down No. 6 Duke 🚨The Spartans get their first ever win at Duke. pic.twitter.com/j9qeqesohv
— ESPN (@espn) December 2, 2020

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The Michigan State Spartans will have concerns about availability heading into Wednesday nights matchup. Starter Joshua Langford did not suit up in the last midweek game against Detroit but played normal minutes in the previous game against Kent State.

The starting guard's health will dictate how the Spartans line up on the floor and how they will attempt to break down the disciplined Virginia Cavaliers defense.

Key Player - Rocket Watts

Rocket Watts sets the tone for the Michigan State Spartans. He needs to have a key role in knocking off the Virginia Cavaliers. Watts' aggressive play will be necessary to control the ball game and disorient the slow-placed Virginia Side.

Michigan State Spartans Predicted Lineup

Thomas Kithier, Gabe Brown, Joey Hauser, Joshua Langford, Rocket Watts

Virginia Cavaliers Preview

The Virginia Cavaliers (4-1) are still the defending champions due to last season's NCAA championships being canceled. They will be looking to make a statement against Michigan State Spartans and move back into the top 10 after a disappointing loss to the unranked San Francisco Dons.

Only thing slower than Virginia’s pace is how long it took too much of the world to understand how great this coach and this team are at basketball — and have been since 2013-14.Hoos, I salute you.
— John Gasaway (@JohnGasaway) April 9, 2019

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The key to the Virginia Cavaliers' success is their speed of play. They are most comfortable when they keep the pace to around 60 possessions per game. This will be an interesting battle to watch as the Spartans tend to push the pace to 70 possessions.

Key Player - Jay Huff

Jay Huff has taken on the role of the leading big man role for the Virginia Cavaliers this season. The 7-foot-1 redshirt senior is averaging 12 points while converting 79% of his close-range shots. He will play a key role as the defending champions try to outscore the Spartans.

Virginia Cavaliers Predicted Lineup

Sam Hauser, Jay Huff, Justin McKoy, Tomas Woldetensae, Reece Beekman

Michigan Stave vs. Virginia Prediction

Michigan State's speed will be too much for the Virginia Cavaliers. We expect a big game out of Rocket Watts as he will look to help the Spartans stay undefeated in the early play of the college basketball season.

How to watch Michigan State vs. Virginia

This game will be broadcasted live on ESPN.

About the author

Johnathan Wright is an NBA / NCAAM analyst at Sportskeeda. He played college soccer for the University of Louisville and is now a freelance writer covering basketball and soccer for multiple media companies. Johnathan is also currently earning a Master of Science in Sports Business with a concentration in Sports Analytics from Temple University.

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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh