Michigan State Basketball: Report card for Nebraska win in Week 4

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EAST LANSING, MI – DECEMBER 3: Evan Taylor #11 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers drives to the basket during the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on December 3, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

Defense: A-

Defense wins championships. That can’t be reiterated enough as Michigan State continues its quest for a Big Ten title in 2017-18. The Spartans have been playing some great defense, holding a fifth straight opponent under 63 points. That kind of intensity is what’s going to take Michigan State from a good team to a great one.

For yet another contest, an opponent had a rough time trying to get open shots. The Cornhuskers made just 27 percent of their shots from the floor, but were 10-of-22 from 3-point land. You get rid of those 3-pointers and the Huskers are 7-of-40 from inside the arc. That’s not exactly what you’d call impressive.

The one issue was that the defense didn’t force many Nebraska turnovers which are gold for the Spartans as they turn them into fast-break points rather easily. Michigan State had just one steal and the Huskers turned the ball over a total of five times. That needs to improve.

The major takeaways are the 3-point defense needs to get better, Michigan State needs to force more turnovers and when teams try to score inside the arc, it’s bad news for them.

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