Michigan State basketball looking to gain momentum vs. Nebraska

After a tough loss to Indiana, Michigan State basketball has one last chance to gain some momentum before playing Michigan to end the season.

No one could have imagined Michigan State leading for 38 minutes against Indiana on the road and then losing in the fashion that it did. The Spartans were up by 6-10 points for a majority of the game and the Hoosiers just stuck around because of the 3-ball and it worked in their favor for a one-point upset.

With the loss, the Spartans dropped one game back of Purdue in the Big Ten standings with the hope that the Boilermakers lose one of their final two games against either Northwestern or Minnesota on the road.

Now that Michigan State no longer controls its own destiny, it will just need to look for a momentum-gainer against a team like Nebraska before it faces Michigan in East Lansing to end the regular season.

Nebraska is a team that has had plenty of ups and downs this season and fans are almost ready to throw in the towel on Tim Miles in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers are 15-14 on the year and James Palmer has gone from Big Ten Player of the Year candidate to strictly an All-Big Ten performer, second or third team, because of his ineffectiveness shooting the ball.

Any team can get hot against these Spartans and they’re prepared for worst-case scenario.

Here’s how you can watch Tuesday’s game in East Lansing:

Date: Tuesday, March 5
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Venue: Breslin Center
TV: ESPN 2
Live Stream: WatchESPN or FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Michigan State needs to take care of the basketball and rebound. I’m not even going to go into offensive and defensive specific keys because those are the two things that seem to plague this team in losses. The Spartans held an eight-rebound advantage in the first half against Indiana and found themselves up by seven at the break. In the second half, the Hoosiers out-rebounded the Spartans by nine and ended up winning by one.

If this team can rebound and not have the sloppy turnovers that Kenny Goins and Aaron Henry had against Indiana, it will be able to lock up a win by about the 10-minute mark in the second half, if not sooner. Keep Nebraska off the offensive glass and everything else should work itself out.

Players to Watch

Nebraska isn’t short on talent this season, but keeping it healthy has been another story. Plus, consistency has been lacking which has brought this team from tourney-bound to hopeful-NIT invitee. Who should the Spartans be keeping an eye on Tuesday?

• James Palmer Jr.: 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals
• Glynn Watson Jr.: 12.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 37% 3-point shooting
• Isaiah Roby: 11.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 44% FG shooting

Prediction

It was disheartening to see Tom Izzo so visibly frustrated with the outcome of Saturday’s upset loss in Bloomington but you know his team was every bit as disgusted with how things turned out. Expect to see a motivated Michigan State team on Tuesday which will get out to a nice lead early on and just extend as the game progresses. Nebraska just doesn’t have the firepower to keep up with even an undermanned Michigan State team and the Spartans know it.

Final Score: Nebraska 58, Michigan State 74