The emotions and jitters of the season opener are over for Niagara and Michigan State, so now the teams will look to settle in when they meet on Thursday in East Lansing, Mich.
Both teams will be coming off Monday wins.
Michigan State earned an 81-57 home victory over Monmouth, pulling away late after the Hawks were within 10 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
For the Spartans, Jaden Akins had a fine season debut after struggling in the offseason and preseason.
Akins had 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists and just one turnover, and how well his senior season goes will go a long way in determining Michigan State’s fate.
“It surprised me what’s happened end of the summer and the fall,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “Him and I met this week. I think he’s just putting too much pressure on himself. Nobody works harder at it, so I know he spends an exorbitant amount of time on his game.”
Niagara, meanwhile, opened its season with a 100-65 win over Division III Houghton. Seven Purple Eagles scored in double figures, led by Jahari Williamson’s 16 points.
Former Duke player Greg Paulus is in his sixth year as coach of Niagara and has a whole new roster this season, including 10 transfers.
Niagara was picked to finish eighth out of 13 teams in the preseason MAAC coaches poll and didn’t have a player on the MAAC’s preseason all-league teams.
However, Paulus was encouraged by the balance his team showed in the opener.
“For us, there’s a lot of versatility on this team,” he said. “Different guys can step up on different nights. For us, we are going to be at our best when we balanced scoring across the board and when we are sharing that basketball.”