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Michigan State Basketball: Preview, prediction vs. Northwestern in Week 15

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 10: Miles Bridges #22 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans late in the second half during a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Breslin Center on February 10, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 10: Miles Bridges #22 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans late in the second half during a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Breslin Center on February 10, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Northwestern and Michigan State basketball will meet up on Saturday afternoon with the Spartans’ Big Ten title hopes on the line.

Michigan State’s road to a Big Ten regular season title became clearer on Thursday evening. Both Purdue and Ohio State dropped road games against unranked foes, placing the Spartans in a first-place tie with the Buckeyes.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: Game-by-game predictions for February

Those losses worked in the Spartans’ favor, but it also did something else: it proved that no road game in the Big Ten is a given. Michigan State (25-3, 13-2 Big Ten) must realize that on Saturday afternoon against a Northwestern (15-12, 6-8) team that was ranked before the season began but hasn’t quite lived up to expectations.

Tom Izzo isn’t going to let his team roll over and lay an egg and the Wildcats aren’t going to be a layup, either. This win is imperative for the Spartans’ Big Ten title hopes.

Here’s how you can watch Saturday afternoon’s game:

Date: Saturday, Feb. 17
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Location: Rosemont, Ill.
Venue: Allstate Arena
TV: FOX
Live Stream: FOX Sports Go

Keys to Victory

I know I’ve said that Michigan State doesn’t need Miles Bridges to put up a ton of points to be effective, but this might be one of those games where everyone else relies on him a bit more. He’ll need to bounce back from his 1-for-7 performance against Minnesota and top 20 points. Moreover, Cassius Winston is as important as anyone on the floor and the Spartans will need him to protect the ball.

Nick Ward will also be a major key on both ends of the floor. He must avoid letting one foul turn into two early on. He has a tendency to get frustrated when calls don’t go his way and he needs to combat those double-teams he continues to get. As long as he passes right out of a double-team and catches the ball deep in the post to go one-on-one with his defender, the Spartans will run an effective offense.

Northwestern Players to Watch

The Wildcats only average 70 points per game which may not be enough to keep pace with the Spartans, buy anything is possible when favorites hit the road in the Big Ten. Which Wildcats should we be watching for?

  • Scottie Lindsey — 14.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 33% 3-point shooting
  • Bryant McIntosh (if healthy) — 12.1 points, 5.2 assists, 34% 3-point shooting
  • Vic Law — 11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 37% 3-point shooting
  • Derek Pardon — 11.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 63% FG shooting

Next: MSU Basketball: 5 bold predictions for February

Prediction

Like all road games in the Big Ten, this one isn’t going to be easy. The Spartans may look like the clearly superior team, but Northwestern still has some juice left in the tank and it showed that against Michigan last week. This is going to be a low-scoring affair through the first half, but Michigan State will turn it on late and swipe the lead for good with about 10 minutes left. Some late 3-pointers by the Wildcats will make the final score look closer than it really was.

Final Score: Michigan State 73, Northwestern 64

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