Michigan State basketball is facing a huge road battle against a suddenly red-hot Wisconsin team on Friday night, and this will be the difference between staying in the Big Ten title race and essentially being eliminated from it.
The Spartans are the better team, on paper, but Wisconsin has been beating some of the Big Ten’s best teams over the past few weeks. Could the Badgers add Michigan State to their resume?
Here are some disadvantages that the Spartans face against the Badgers.
1. MSU has struggled on the road
Michigan State has two road losses this season and both have come during Big Ten play. The Spartans lost by two at Nebraska and then three at Minnesota last week.
To be fair, the Spartans are 4-2 on the road in Big Ten play, but they haven’t exactly looked dominant away from home. They did beat Washington and Oregon handily, but they struggled to put Rutgers and Penn State away. Heck, they did struggle a bit against Oregon until the final 10 minutes.
Those road struggles work in Wisconsin’s favor.
2. Wisconsin has a better backcourt
Michigan State may have the best guard on the floor, but Wisconsin has the best overall backcourt. The Badgers have two guards who average at least 18 points per game in Nick Boyd and John Blackwell. They may not be as good defensively as Jeremy Fears, but having two elite-scoring guards makes a difference.
Tom Izzo has been looking for a consistent two-guard all season, and Wisconsin doesn’t have that problem with its starting backcourt averaging nearly 40 points per game.
Maybe Jordan Scott, Trey Fort, and Kur Teng can all step up to match Wisconsin’s output.
3. Turnovers
Michigan State has had a bit of a turnover problem this season, averaging 12 per game, but Wisconsin has been much better with the ball, averaging 9.4.
That might come into play on Friday night.
The Spartans have struggled with clean play on the road this season, and that’s an issue heading into a huge road game with the Badgers. A three-turnover difference is kind of a lot, but Michigan State has the ability to clean things up. If this is an average game for the Spartans, it might not turn out well in the turnover category.