Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from big win at Ohio State

3. If Nick Ward starts making free throws consistently, watch out

If there’s one area of Nick Ward’s game — besides the mid-range game — that he, and Tom Izzo, wishes he could improve, it would have to be his free throw shooting. He makes a little over 50 percent of his shots from the line which is not great for someone who always gets to the charity stripe with his aggressive play in the post.

Saturday’s Ohio State performance was the perfect opportunity for him to prove himself and improve in that area as he made 14 trips to the line. On a normal night, he’d make about 7-8, but this time he made 11.

An 11-for-14 day from the charity stripe is great news for the Spartans and bad news for the rest of the Big Ten. If Ward can start making shots consistently from the line, watch out.

Teams have conceded fouls against him down low just because he’s about a 50 percent shooter but if he gets up to that 60-70 percent range, it’ll be more dangerous to give up that foul and opponents may have to play him less aggressive.

This could lead to more easy buckets for Ward down low and a better post game for the Spartans in general. This may have been a big step forward in his free throw progress — hopefully not an outlier.