Michigan State Basketball: 3 key players for Spartans at Maryland

Michigan State basketball will look to continue its winning streak on Sunday when it travels to Maryland to play the Terrapins.

Michigan State is looking to get into the win column for the fourth straight game when it heads to Maryland to face the Terrapins. The Spartans will need to continue to play lights out defense to continue this serge into March.

The Spartans need to continue this winning streak to keep their NCAA tournament streak alive. Here are three players to keep an eye on.

1. Aaron Henry

Aaron Henry has been out of this world the last week. He is scoring at will most of the time and shooting a ridiculous 47 percent from beyond the arc. He is also defending well. He was one of the main contributors who limited Ayo Dosunmo to 6-of-18 shooting.

Henry has also stepped up and being the leader this team needs to make it to the tournament. He has turned it up and is saying he does not want to miss the tournament and does not want his supporting cast to miss the tournament either. Henry will need to put a clamp down on the Terrapins’ Eric Ayala and Co. to keep the streak going.

2. Rocket Watts

Rocket Watts has not had the season that we all expected. He was forced to take over the point guard position at the start of the season and it just was not working. He switched back to the shooting guard spot and still could not get it going.

Over the last few games, he has been back to taking over some of the point guard position and still hasn’t been consistent with his scoring ability or leading like some were expected but he is consistent in one thing: Watts is being more aggressive.

Although Rocket is not hitting all of the shots he is looking for his go to scores more often. He is driving to the basket and pulling up for the floaters like he likes so much. It appears his confidence is coming back to him and won’t be too long before he is back to playing like he was at the end of last season. Look for him start scoring more at will against the Terrapins.

3. Joey Hauser

Joey started the season great. He was in rhythm and found his shot at ease. However, since the start of Big Ten play, he has been off. He has been turning the ball over in crucial times, he could not find his shooting touch and was just overall struggling.

Since the second half of the Indiana game, he has been more like his old self. Against Illinois, he had 13 points and made a big three late in the game. Against Ohio State, he might have only had eight points but he did some great things that won’t show up on paper. Hauser was able to move his feet well to not allow the Buckeyes easy looks. He might not have had the best defense against EJ Liddell but not one could stop him.

It finally looks like Hauser is rounding out to be back to how he was before Big Ten play. Look for him to keep this confidence serge.

These players could be crucial to keep this Spartan team moving forward and toward the NCAA Tournament. We need these guys and we need them to play to the best of their ability.  Look for these players continuing to play what we all thought the Spartans would be this year.