Michigan State Basketball: 5 reasons Spartans will beat Michigan for title

Michigan State basketball has the game plan in place to beat a team like Michigan, especially with a Big Ten title on the line at home.

It happened once already this season, but Michigan State is hoping it saved its biggest win of the season for Saturday’s finale against top rival Michigan.

East Lansing will be rocking as everything is on the line for Saturday’s contest, including bragging rights, a Big Ten title and seeding in both the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. This one has the feel of a tourney game already as the loser will feel as if its season is over without a banner to show for it while the winner gets to gloat.

Here’s why Michigan State basketball could beat the Wolverines on Saturday night to complete the season sweep.

5. Gabe Brown, Aaron Henry will be X-factors

When Kyle Ahrens went down with a back injury — again — Tom Izzo was forced to call on one of his freshmen to step up. Gabe Brown answered the call and played well against Nebraska. He played better defense than anyone had expected and he took his shots and wasn’t hesitant.

One thing that had been lacking with him prior to the game was confidence and his seven shots made sure that was no longer the case as he drove as well as took the occasional open three. He finished with two points, but had a positive impact on both ends.

Aaron Henry, on the other hand, had been struggling for a majority of the season with his shot and even though he was a starter, it didn’t seem like he had caught on to the collegiate level of speed. He squashed that notion against Nebraska with a career-high 15 points and he looked like the player we can all expect for the next 2-3 years.

Both are coming off solid games and should be counted on to repeat those performances when called on. They provide solid role pieces for the Spartans and could be major X-factors.