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Michigan State basketball faces must-win vs. subpar Illinois

By Connor Muldowney

LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 17: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans watches action during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 17, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 17: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans watches action during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 17, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball is riding its first losing skid of the season and if the Spartans want to keep hold of their top spot in the Big Ten, they must win.

Is it too early in the season to start talking about “must-win” games? Michigan State is essentially a lock for the NCAA Tournament barring an extreme meltdown (such as losing out) but if the Spartans want to stay on top of the Big Ten title race, they need to take care of a lackluster Illinois squad in Champaign on Tuesday night.

No, losing to Illinois certainly wouldn’t be the end of the season, but losing three straight Big Ten contests would surely put this team behind in the conference title race, especially with Purdue surging all of a sudden.

Michigan State is coming off its worst loss of the season, a four-point overtime defeat at home against an Indiana team that lost seven straight coming in.

Illinois, on the other hand, has beaten Minnesota, Nebraska and Maryland over the past few weeks and has the confidence to upset a team like Michigan State at home. Don’t expect the Spartans to come out expecting a win after Saturday night’s debacle against the Hoosiers, though.

Here’s how you can watch Tuesday night’s game:

Date: Tuesday, Feb. 5
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Champaign, Ill.
Venue: State Farm Center
TV: ESPN 2
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

Michigan State needs to feed the post. Nick Ward needs any kind of confidence-boost he can get and you can bet he wants to get back to the foul line to prove Saturday night’s 1-for-9 performance isn’t who he really is. The Spartans must get him the ball and let Ward use that size advantage down low to score some early baskets and get on a roll. When that first basket falls, it’ll be smooth sailing for the junior big man.

The Spartans must defend the 3-point line. They have an advantage in the post, but Michigan State has a tendency to let guys leak open for threes that they normally don’t allow, giving teams momentum — like Indiana. Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier and Aaron Jordan can light it up from long-range, and you can expect them to have the green light all night. Matt McQuaid and Aaron Henry need to lock down that perimeter.

Players to Watch

Illinois doesn’t score a ton of points and, on average, are out-scored by one each game. The Illini can get hot from the perimeter, but the Spartans have to bounce back defensively.

  • Trent Frazier: 14.6 points, 2.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 40% 3-point shooting
  • Ayo Dosunmu: 13.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 44% FG
  • Giorgi Bezhanishvili: 11.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 52% FG
  • Aaron Jordan: 8.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 40% 3-point shooting

Next. MSU basketball: Game-by-game predictions for February. dark

Prediction

I’ve toned down my earlier prediction in my monthly game-by-game posted last Friday for this game only because I think the Spartans are just looking to get some confidence back. The first game after a two-game skid isn’t going to be perfect but I do think they come away with a decent win thanks to another solid game from Cassius Winston and we’re going to see Matt McQuaid take more shots. Aaron Henry must be more aggressive when looking for his shot and Nick Ward is going to finally wake up. It’ll be close all night long, but the Spartans head home with a W.

Final Score: Michigan State 77, Illinois 69

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