Fred Hoiberg finally got the best of Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball on Friday night in Lincoln in what was considered “the biggest game in Nebraska history”.
The Cornhuskers were able to sneak by Michigan State, 58-56, to hand the Spartans their first road loss of the year and also their first Big Ten defeat. Michigan State fell to 12-2 on the season while Nebraska improved to 14-0, keeping that historic start to the season alive.
Now, Michigan State needs a proper bounce-back.
USC comes to town on Monday to potentially provide that for Michigan State. It’s time to get bold ahead of another important Big Ten showdown.
1. Turnover problem solved?
Following what can only be described as one of the sloppiest games in recent memory which resulted in just a 2-point road loss against the nation’s No. 13 team, you can expect a nice return to form on Monday night against USC.
The Spartans had 21 turnover at Nebraska to just 12 assists. That type of ratio hasn’t happened all season, and it felt like most of them were unforced. Excessive, sloppy turnovers have been a common theme over the past few games.
That changes on Monday against USC. The Trojans do average 13 stocks (steals + blocks) per game, but Michigan State will play much sharper.
Michigan State will have fewer than 10 turnovers for the first time since the Duke loss.
2. Long-ball mastery
For about a month now, Michigan State has looked drastically improved from 3-point range. The Spartans began the season as one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the country, but thanks to the growth of Kur Teng and the incredible shooting from Jaxon Kohler, Michigan State is shooting around 37 percent.
If you told me that Michigan State would be approaching 40 percent from deep as a team in January, I would’ve called you insane. Now, that’s the reality. Michigan State is now the No. 57 3-point shooting team in college basketball.
That continues on Monday against a mediocre USC defense.
Michigan State will take smart shots, and both Teng and Kohler will have big games from deep along with Divine Ugochukwu, Trey Fort, and Jesse McCulloch.
The Spartans shoot 12-of-22 from deep.
3. Michigan State covers, and then some
Every time Michigan State is listed as a heavy favorite against an inferior opponent, it feels like it falls short of covering.
Michigan State will finally flip the script on Monday against USC.
The Spartans are 10.5-point favorites at the Breslin Center, and USC is fresh off a 30-point loss to Michigan. I see Michigan State bouncing back from that heartbreaking loss at No. 13 Nebraska to beat the previously-ranked No. 24 Trojans in East Lansing by 15-20 points.
Michigan State wins 80-63 in convincing fashion.