Sharpening Details: Michigan State preps for January in Oakland matchup

For Michigan State, Saturday’s matchup with Oakland is less about the opponent and more about sharpening habits, testing adjustments, and using a rare pocket of uninterrupted practice time before the grind resumes.

The Spartans will play their 12th game of the season against Oakland University at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena, looking to extend a dominant run in the annual non-conference series. Michigan State has won 22 straight meetings with the Golden Grizzlies and enters the game aiming to maintain momentum before a week-long break from competition.

With final exams complete, head coach Tom Izzo has leaned into a rare luxury in the modern college basketball calendar: double practice days. The Spartans have been holding two-a-days—one session in the morning and another in the evening - allowing the staff to slow things down and focus on detail.

“They’re the best,” Izzo said of the extended practice days. “Because we get to spend the time and really get intricate at what we want to do. We don’t get to do that anymore. The schedules are so tough, the rules—although it’s probably the only rule you get nailed on. You can get a kid a bank now, but you can’t go past the 20 hours.”

Michigan State won convincingly in last season’s meeting with Oakland and will look to do the same before heading into its short layoff. Still, Izzo is well aware of the primary challenge Oakland presents: Greg Kampe’s unconventional zone defense.

“He plays the most screwed-up zone,” Izzo said, half-jokingly. “He keeps telling me he knows what he’s doing - I don’t believe him. But they’re confused, we’re confused, he’s confused, everybody’s confused. And it has some success because he gets his guys to play really hard.”

Zone defense remains a point of emphasis for the Spartans after earlier-season struggles. Michigan State bogged down offensively in the second half against Duke when the Blue Devils switched to a zone, enduring nearly a five-minute stretch late in the game without a made field goal.

Izzo has been candid in taking responsibility for that lapse and has since emphasized zone offense during practice. While Michigan State did prepare for Duke’s zone looks, Izzo admitted the time devoted to it was insufficient.

“Like everything in life, what you put the time into is what you get out of it,” Izzo said. “We didn’t put enough time into it because they played two minutes of zone. I’ve had that happen one other time, and I should know better. We’ll blame players for things, but there are times when the coach deserves the blame.”

Establishing consistency within the rotation has become a priority for Tom Izzo as the calendar turns toward the heart of the season. The biggest unresolved question remains the shooting guard position, where Michigan State has cycled through multiple lineups without fully settling on a dependable two-way option.

Sophomore Divine Ugochukwu has begun to find some offensive rhythm, particularly from the perimeter, but Izzo has made it clear that improvement is still needed on the defensive end at the two-guard spot.

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