GAME NOTES: The Michigan State Spartans are chomping at the bit to get back into the Top-25, and beating the visiting Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Sunday night will help in that effort.

Oakland comes into the fray a game under .500 (4-5), and the team is seeking its fourth straight win after taking down Toledo (81-79), Rochester College (84-52) and Morehead State (70-68) over the last couple of weeks.

Michigan State had begun the campaign ranked in the national polls, but has suffered losses in three of its first nine games. The Spartans first dropped an 81-71 decision to Duke, and has also been beaten by Kansas (61-56) and Notre Dame (79-78 OT). MSU bounced back from the loss to the Fighting Irish by hammering Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Saturday, 85-52.

Michigan State has won all 12 previous meetings with Oakland, with the most recent being a 67-63 decision exactly one year ago to the day.

Corey Petros poured in 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and every bit of that impressive effort was needed for Oakland to outlast Morehead State last week. Kahlil Felder and Nick Daniels chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively, with the former also handing out seven assists. As a team, the Golden Grizzlies connected on 50 percent of their field goal attempts, but went just 3-of-12 from 3-point range. Oakland was outrebounded, 36-31, but outscored the Eagles at the charity stripe, 15-9, while taking advantage of 16 turnovers.

Petros (16.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg) leads the Grizzlies in both scoring and rebounding, and Felder (15.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 7.5 apg) has produced on a consistent basis as well. Tommie McCune (12.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Dante Williams (10.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg) are also averaging in double figures for a team that generates 76.9 ppg, but allows 76.8 ppg. Oakland has shot the ball well, hitting 47.8 percent of its field goal attempts, which includes a 38.7 percent showing from beyond the arc. Turnovers have hurt the team at times though, as it is guilty of nearly 14 miscues per outing.

Travis Trice and Matt Costello both scored 15 points to pace a total of five players in double figures, as Michigan State rolled over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last time out. Bryn Forbes and Branden Dawson hit for a dozen points each, while Marvin Clark, Jr. chipped in 10 points for the Spartans, who converted a sizzling 60 percent of their total shots, which included a 10-of-18 effort from beyond the arc. Conversely, UAPB was limited to 30.9 percent field goal efficiency, and only six of its 24 3-point tries found the bottom of the net. Both teams were rather careless with the basketball, combining for 35 turnovers. MSU logged a sizable 42-28 rebounding advantage.

Trice and Denzel Valentine rank one-two on Michigan State's scoring list for the season, checking in at 15.2 and 14.6 ppg, respectively. Dawson (11.1 ppg) and Forbes (10.3 ppg) also average double digits, with the former spearheading the club's effort on the glass with 9.0 rpg. Trice and Valentine have accounted for more than half of the team's total assists, and the Spartans are +8.8 in rebounding margin, but -2.1 in turnover differential.

As productive as Petros and Felder have been, the Golden Grizzlies are no match for the Spartans. Expect MSU to continue its dominance over its in-state rival by claiming a comfortable home win.