Friday night’s Wisconsin vs. Michigan State basketball matchup is going to be the game of the night in college hoops as the No. 10 Spartans will be in Madison to take on the red-hot Badgers.
Both teams are coming off a big win over Illinois.
The Spartans have some advantages over the Badgers, and here are three that stand out.
1. MSU has the best player on the floor
While Wisconsin has two elite guard leading the way and it’ll have the best backcourt on Friday night, Michigan State has the best overall player, and that accounts for something.
The attention that Jeremy Fears draws from defenses is only going to help the Spartans against the Badgers, especially since he’s going to draw a ton of fouls from Nick Boyd and John Blackwell. Fears can drive the lane with the best of ‘em, and he showed that against Illinois. Wisconsin is going to have a tough time staying in front of Fears and the help-side defenders are going to try and help by crashing when he’s driving the lane, leaving someone always open for three.
Fears is playing at an All-American level, and that has to be some sort of advantage, right?
2. Rebounding
Wisconsin isn’t a “bad” rebounding term, per se, but the Badgers are nowhere near as effective as the Spartans on the glass. The Spartans average over 41 boards per game while the Badgers are somewhere around 37 per game. If you include decimals, Michigan State averages nearly five more boards per game than the Badgers.
That effectiveness on the glass is going to pay off if Wisconsin’s shots aren’t falling. When the Badgers are hot, there’s almost no stopping them, but if Michigan State’s defense stifles them on the perimeter, it could be a long night offensively for Wisconsin.
Forcing tough shots almost guarantees a Michigan State rebound.
3. Defense
Over the years, Wisconsin had developed a reputation for having elite defenses. That has faded a bit in recent years as the Badgers’ offenses have been much more effective. They have one of the better offenses in the Big Ten this season, but that’s come at the expense of the defense a bit.
It’s tough to compared defenses with Michigan State because the Spartans are elite there, but Wisconsin gives up over 75 points per game compared to just 65.6 for Tom Izzo’s crew.
Michigan State has the better defense, Wisconsin has the better offense. Something’s got to give.