Michigan State Basketball: 3 keys to victory in must-win battle at Michigan
By Nate Rhoades
Michigan State basketball is heading to Ann Arbor in a rescheduled matchup. The Spartans coming off a huge win against Purdue will look to keep rolling.
Michigan State is heading to Ann Arbor to take on their in-state rival in a rescheduled matchup.
The Spartans will need to come out strong again in this game because they will be battle-tested all game long as the Wolverines are on the bubble and need some more signature wins to be in the NCAA Tournament come Selection Sunday.
Michigan State won the last game against the Michigan Wolverines pretty easily in and lopsided 83-67 victory in East Lansing. The Spartans will try and emulate this same success as they travel to Ann Arbor.
Michigan State has only won two of its last seven games and will need to continue its trend upward. They have a big shot against a Juwan Howard-less Michigan team and know what they have to do.
Here are three keys to a Spartan victory on Tuesday night.
3. Focus on Hunter Dickinson
Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson was able to put up 25 points on the Spartans in their first matchup. That was mostly against Julius Marble and Mady Sissoko and the other bigs not named Marcus Bingham. They have to focus on him once again.
Bingham will need to fight Dickinson on the block and not give up position to force him to become uncomfortable. Most of the game, Bingham and Marble will have to play Hunter straight up and not rely on a double team. This is because Dickinson is real good at kicking the ball out and getting his teammates easier looks.
The Spartans will also need to run pick-and-roll scenarios with Hunter defending because if they switch there will be huge mismatches. If the point guards can find Bingham early, he will have an easy time finding a rhythm and buckets. If they can’t get the ball down low on the mismatches, the guards themselves will have a mismatch with Dickinson guarding them and they can beat him to the rack.
If the Wolverines do not switch the guards cannot be hesitant in taking open shots. If there is no switching the guards should be able to find space with the pick to get an open look from deep or have a step to hit a mid-range jumper.
Michigan State has to focus on Dickinson to win this game.