Michigan State vs Ohio State preview, prediction and more

Who will win Tuesday night’s Michigan State vs Ohio State game in Columbus?

Michigan State will be traveling to Columbus on Tuesday night for quite possibly the toughest remaining game on its schedule. The Spartans have four games left in the regular season and if they can get past the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road, they will have a great chance at running the table.

Ohio State isn’t going to just roll over, though. The Buckeyes don’t have many quality wins, but they have still put together a solid year without any real stars, going 18-10 and riding a two-game win streak.

Tom Izzo’s squad will be looking for its 23rd win of the year and to make a case for a No. 1 seed come the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State is just looking to make the Big Dance. Who wins?

Details for Tuesday’s Michigan State vs Ohio State game are below:

Date: Tuesday, Feb. 23
Start Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Location: Columbus, OH
Stadium: Value City Arena
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: For Michigan State radio affiliates, click here. For Ohio State radio affiliates, click here.

Three Keys to Victory

Feb 14, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Matt Costello (10)shoots the ball over Indiana Hoosiers forward Max Bielfeldt (0) during the second half of a game at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /

Tum Tum, the facilitator. People don’t realize what Tum Tum Nairn can bring to the table when he’s healthy. He gets the ball up the court so fast and forces defenders to have to collapse so he doesn’t get an easy layup. If he can get the ball moving around, the Spartans will find the open man with ease.
Offensive rebounding. Matt Costello and Deyonta Davis will be key in this one. Ohio State could be down its second-leading rebounder and that could help one of the top rebounding teams in the country get more second-chance points.
Stay out of foul trouble. We all know what happens when Michigan State gets into major foul trouble (see: at Wisconsin). The Spartans need to keep up their solid stretch of elite defending without fouling and they should have no problem coming out on top.

Three Storylines to Follow

Feb 18, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Bryn Forbes (5) reacts to a play during the first half of a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /

Bryn Forbes’ effectiveness. The team usually feeds off Bryn Forbes’ hot shooting and this might be another case of that. Will the senior guard keep his three-point shooting around 50 percent?
Jae’Sean Tate’s possible absence. With a possible shoulder injury, Ohio State’s third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder might be absent tonight and for the remainder of the year.
Denzel’s NPOY campaign. It’s very possible that Denzel Valentine could win the National Player of the Year, but he will need to show it in games like this.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Michigan State -6

Ohio State Players to Watch

Marc Loving — 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 39% FG shooting
Keita Bates-Diop — 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 45% FG shooting
Jae’Sean Tate* — 11.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 53% FG shooting
JaQuan Lyle — 10.3 points, 4.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 39% FG shooting

Prediction

With Jae’Sean Tate possible sitting this one out, and potentially the rest of the year, with a shoulder injury, that’s one less guy the Spartans have to worry about. If Michigan State can defend the perimeter and stay out of foul trouble, this one will be in the bag. The hostile crowd might pose a problem, but this team has won on the road multiple times. Denzel will finally get another triple-double and the Spartans win comfortably thanks to a late surge.

Final Score: Michigan State 76, Ohio State 67

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