Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball will be on the road on Saturday night for their third Big Ten game away from the Breslin Center this season. Washington will be the host this time.
The Spartans are 15-2 on the season and have won three straight games after a devastating road loss to No. 13 Nebraska to start the new year. That was their only Big Ten blemish, and they’ll be looking to stay hot against Washington on Saturday evening.
Washington, on the other hand, is just 10-7 after being projected to finish in the top half of the conference, and the Huskies are only 2-4 in Big Ten play. It’s been a rough year so far.
Here’s what I want to see from Michigan State against a beatable Washington team.
1. Continued aggression from Jeremy Fears on offense
Over the past five games, Jeremy Fears is averaging 17.6 points and 8.0 assists per game. He’s also shooting 47 percent from the floor while making 30-of-33 free throws — he’s been nearly automatic when he gets to the line. The reason for this recent offensive success? He’s being more aggressive on the offensive end.
Before, Fears would be strictly a facilitator. There’s nothing wrong with that since he’s one of the best passers in college basketball, but he’s added scoring to his game.
The sophomore needs to continue to get downhill and get to the basket because the offense seems to perk up when he does hunt his own shots.
2. Defending without fouling
Washington has proven through the first half of the season that if you foul the Huskies, you’re going to pay for it. The Huskies are the 14th-best free throw shooting team in the country, making a little over 78 percent of their freebies. That’s a recipe for disaster on the road.
There’s always a chance that there’s going to be some home cooking by the officials in Big Ten play. While they’re paid to call a fair game, we’ve seen far too many instances of home teams getting a friendly whistle. And with Washington getting the opposite of a friendly whistle at home against Michigan on Wednesday, I’d expect that to change on Saturday.
The Spartans just have to keep their feet moving, hands up, and they can’t fall for obvious pump fakes, and they should be OK. Foul trouble equates to nearly automatic points for UW.
3. Fewer turnovers
Turnovers have plagued Michigan State for weeks now, and it feels like ever since that loss to Duke, the Spartans have been sloppy with the ball.
Against Duke, Michigan State had single-digit turnovers, but the Spartans haven’t been under 11 since then. They also had as many as 21 against Nebraska. That’s not sustainable for a team that’s trying to win the Big Ten.
More often than not since that Duke loss, Michigan State has had 15-plus turnovers. Against Washington, that number needs to be nearly cut in half.
Bonus: A not-so-slow start
Far too much over the past month, Michigan State has fallen behind early and it’s forced to play catch-up. Playing from behind shouldn’t be something that the Spartans should get used to if they want to play for titles, so that can’t happen again on Saturday evening — especially on the road.