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Michigan State Basketball: Preview, prediction vs. Wisconsin in Big Ten Tournament

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 20: Gavin Schilling #34 of the Michigan State Spartans during introductions before a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 20: Gavin Schilling #34 of the Michigan State Spartans during introductions before a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball is getting set to take on Wisconsin on Friday afternoon in the 2018 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

Tom Izzo has set the tone. His team will no longer be answering questions about anything not related to basketball and the focus will be on a deep NCAA Tournament run. First, though, Michigan State will have to focus on beating Wisconsin for the second time in a week.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: 5 takeaways from win over Wisconsin

The Badgers were hoping for a rematch after taking the Spartans down to the wire on Sunday afternoon in the season finale and they’ll get another shot. Michigan State, on the other hand, is trying to protect a lengthy winning streak and win both the regular season and conference tournament titles for the first time since 2012.

Wisconsin isn’t going to roll over and let the Spartans walk all over it, but Michigan State’s focus might be the key factor in this one — it wasn’t really there on Sunday.

Here’s how you can watch Friday’s Michigan State vs. Wisconsin game:

Date: Friday, March 2
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: New York City, N.Y.
Venue: Madison Square Garden
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: BTN2Go

Keys to victory

Focus, focus and, that’s right, more focus. Izzo laid down the hammer with the media on Wednesday night post-practice, stating that his team will no longer be answering non-basketball questions. That focus must carry into Friday afternoon’s game. This team must remain mentally tough and focus on getting to the conference tourney semifinal. Time to throw the distraction out the window.

Defensively, repeating the same effort the Spartans had against Ethan Happ on Sunday will be crucial. Brad Davison is going to get his shots and he’s going to make a decent amount of them, but he’s not going to beat the Spartans one-on-five. Contain Happ and force tough shots for Davison and the Spartans will be in good shape.

Wisconsin players to watch

There are two Wisconsin players who could cause the most harm to the Spartans, but some others are stepping up, and did so against Maryland in the second round on Thursday. Here’s who to be watching for on Friday.

  • Ethan Happ — 17.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 53% FG shooting
  • Brad Davison — 12.1 points, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 37% 3-point shooting
  • Brevin Pritzl — 9.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 36% 3-point shooting
  • Khalil Iverson — 8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 54% FG shooting

Next: MSU Basketball: 5 bold predictions for Big Ten Tournament

Prediction

This is going to be a tough matchup for the Spartans, especially since this matchup comes just five days after the most recent one with the Badgers. Brad Davison is going to give Michigan State a hard time yet again while Ethan Happ will be slightly more effective this time around. Miles Bridges, too, will be more effective and he’s not going to roll over and finish with under 10 points — he will drop 25. Cassius Winston will have a double-double and remain hot from deep while Nick Ward and Jaren Jackson Jr. punish the post.

Final Score: Wisconsin 65, Michigan State 74

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