Halftime Report
Only one more half stands between Michigan State and the win they were favored to collect coming into this afternoon. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead FAU 42-29.
Michigan State entered the matchup having won four straight and they're just one half away from another. Will they make it five, or will FAU step up and spoil it? We'll know soon.
Who's Playing
FAU Owls @ Michigan State Spartans
Current Records: FAU 7-5, Michigan State 9-2
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET
- Where: Breslin Center -- East Lansing, Michigan
- TV: Fox Sports 1
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $24.00
What to Know
The FAU Owls will take on the Michigan State Spartans in a holiday battle at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at at Breslin Center. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with the Owls sitting on three straight victories and the Spartans on four.
Last Saturday, FAU earned an 89-80 win over Texas State.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead FAU to victory, but perhaps none more so than Tre Carroll, who went 7 for 9 en route to 18 points plus two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Baba Miller, who scored 11 points in addition to five assists and five rebounds.
FAU was working as a unit and finished the game with 23 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Texas State only racked up 15.
Meanwhile, on TuesdayOakland kept up with Michigan State until halftime, but afterwards: not so much. Michigan State blew past Oakland 77-58. The Spartans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matches by 19 points or more this season.
Michigan State's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Xavier Booker, who went 5 for 9 en route to 18 points plus six rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Booker a new career-high in offensive rebounds (four). Jaxon Kohler was another key player, dropping a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
FAU's win bumped their record up to 7-5. As for Michigan State, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's matchup: FAU has been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 37.3% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Michigan State, though, as they've only made 27.8% of their threes this season. Given FAU's sizable advantage in that area, Michigan State will need to find a way to close that gap.
FAU was pulverized by Michigan State 82-55 in their previous meeting back in November of 2015. Can FAU avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Odds
Michigan State is a big 13.5-point favorite against FAU, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Spartans as a 12.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 158.5 points.
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Series History
Michigan State won the only game these two teams have played in the last 9 years.
- Nov 13, 2015 - Michigan State 82 vs. FAU 55