Michigan State basketball could use Nebraska win as momentum-builder

Michigan State basketball was able to overcome some sloppy play to have an overall good game and get a much-needed road win against Nebraska.

Nebraska was like that annoying little brother that would not go away on Thursday night. Every time Michigan State tried to pull away, Nebraska was able to answer with a short run of its own to keep it a game until the last five minutes.

Eventually the Spartans were able to pull away and defeat Nebraska in a landslide win. They were able to clean up their play enough to stop letting Nebraska back into it. They finally found a way to finish stronger than the way they started.

Cassius Winston and Co. had a great game overall but fell short in one category: turnovers.

Some crucial role players stepped up and showed Tom Izzo that someone can be the third scoring option. In fact, three different people stepped and had a competition to see who could be the better third option scorer. Gabe Brown, Aaron Henry and Kyle Ahrens all finished the night with double figures. They were all able to show glimpses of what we could see in the days yet to come.

Out of those three players competing, Brown is the one who stepped up the most and continued to hit big shot after big shot in order to show he is the next best scoring option. He was able to move the ball well and move without the ball to find those openings to where he was able to hit the open shots all night long.

Not only was this a bright spot for fans to see but winning on the glass has been a huge issue the Spartans have struggled with as well. The Spartans were plus-25 in the rebound margin including being plus-7 on the offensive glass. Yes, you could say that the Spartans are a much bigger team then the Cornhuskers and you would be right, however, as of late, the Spartans have struggled to show any kind of strength on the glass and boxing out so being able to win the margin by 25 boards is a great sign for things to come.

The one area which would have lost the game for the Spartans against any other opponent was the turnover issues. They Spartans had a total of 22 turnovers last night and that cannot happen in these remaining games if they want to pick up that final signature win(s).

While it is safe to say the Spartans got out and ran more than they have in the past five games, causing them to turn the ball over a little more, most of their turnovers did not come from running the floor like they have been in the past few seasons.

These turnovers were careless mistakes by the guards driving into the lane and than leaving their feet in order to make a kick-out pass. When you leave your feet you telegraph your pass, letting the defense step up in front of the ball, getting their hands in the way. The Spartans were also just being careless when handling the ball and did not use their other arm for preventing the defender to steal the ball.

If the Spartans want any chance at not having a season ending four game losing streak they need to clean this area of their game up. However, the good out-weighed the bad, leading the Spartans to a blowout victory to get them back on track before a big home game against No. 20 Iowa who just beat Ohio State on Thursday.

On the other hand, the Cornhuskers were filled with errors while having mini spurts of Big Ten contention style of play. Nebraska was led by Dachon Burke Jr. who ended up coming off the bench and sparking the Cornhuskers with 21 points. He did not shy from the spotlight and made three 3-pointers back-to-back-to-back to bring his team within three at the half.

The other spotlight was the Cornhuskers’ best player in Haanif Cheatham who had 14 points and five steals. He has been able to compete all season and keep the Cornhuskers in games but could not figure out a way against the tenacious Spartans last night.

This Nebraska team, though, did show glimpses of what the could do in the Big Ten. They are a younger team with good talent that will get better with time. Next year, Fred Hoiberg and his Cornhuskers could be in the middle of the conference standings.

Whats Next?

The Spartans will get to have the weekend to rest up before an important home game against the No. 20 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday. This is the Spartans’ first of four games against ranked opponents to end the regular season.