By Morris Phillips

Last season, Michigan State center Julia Ayrault’s inclusion to the All-Big Ten First Team was a no-brainer. Along with WNBA talents Caitlin Clark and Jacy Sheldon, Ayrault was one of the conference’s ten best players, averaging 15.4 points per game, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.

This season, with Clark and Sheldon off to the pros, and some new, prominent names added from USC and UCLA, Ayrault’s name didn’t appear on the conference’s pre-season list. Given her talent, activity and versatility, the omission is glaring.

No confirmation here, but just assume Ayrault, the child of two former collegiate basketball players, might be taking all this personally. Her play in Michigan State’s dominant 6-0 start to the season would suggest as much. Ayrault has scored in double figures in all five games she’s played despite none of those games being in doubt after halftime.

On Tuesday morning in Palm Springs’ Acrisure Arena, Ayrault becomes the Cal women’s problem, as a big roadblock in the Bears attempt to forge a 7-0 start to the season for the first time under Coach Charmin Smith.

The meeting of undefeated teams comes as part of the Acrisure Classic, a four-team tournament that features Vanderbilt and Arizona in the second, opening day matchup.

Michigan State coach Robyn Fralick has her own concerns. Cal’s guard play and experience are worrisome to her, especially Ioanna Krimili and Lulu Twidale, who lead Cal in scoring, but more importantly, have hit big shots in key moments in the Bears’ 6-0 start.

“They shoot the three very well. I think when you watch them play, you can tell they’ve played a lot of basketball and make good decisions,” Fralick said of Cal’s backcourt of Krimili, Twidale and Kayla Williams.

In the combined 12 wins for both teams, neither have had many anxious moments. Michigan State is tied for the national-lead in quarters scoring at least 20 points with LSU. Their up-tempo style has overwhelmed their six mid-major opponents, with the margins of victory all falling between 37 and 65 points.

“At this point, I think we’re ready to see where we are,” Fralick declared.

Cal led by double digits throughout the second halves of their first five games, and against Auburn in their most recent outing, they finally had a game decided late, but Twidale hit a pair of threes in the final two minutes to create a winning margin.

The Bears-Spartans matchup features a familiar face as former Oregon Duck Grace VanSlooten, the Toledo, Ohio native, entered the transfer portal following her sophomore season, and agreed to join the Spartans and create a formidable post duo with Ayrault. VanSlooten has faced the Bears three times, winning the matchup as a freshman, while scoring 20 points with nine rebounds. Last season, VanSlooten suffered a pair of losses to Cal, missing 19 of her combined 26 shots from the floor in the process as the Cal defense proved formidable.

In an interesting juxtaposition, the 6’3″ VanSlooten plays the four in Michigan State’s scheme with the 6’2″ Ayrault in the post. When Fralick was named coach prior to last season, she approached Ayrault, then listed as a guard, regarding a change of position. Ayrault agreed, and that move may have been the key in the Spartans’ 22-9 record and surprising NCAA Tournament berth.

Ayrault’s father, Andrew, now an assistant coach at his alma mater, Wayne State, likely encouraged his daughter to be open-minded to the position switch. Also, Ayrault, now in her fifth season playing for the Spartans has declared that she’s fully committed to the university, thus her decision to return to school, and not test the waters in the transfer portal.

“Staying the course, believing in a place is important to me,” Ayrault said. “I love Michigan State, I love everything about it, so just being here and loving a place and loving the people… that would be it.”

The Spartans’ fast pace and pressure defense will cause Cal problems. The Bears have been prone to turnovers, and Michigan State creates them and turns them into points. The Spartans have scored at least 95 points in all but one of their games thus far. Offensively, the Spartans attack quickly, but prudently.

“You have to play with pace on both sides of the ball,” Fralick said. “Make sure we hunt good shots. But I tell our team that doesn’t mean we (necessarily) have to shoot fast.”

The Bears and Spartans tip at 11:00 a.m., with the game televised on TruTV.