The Spartans are hosting their last home game of the season and they absolutely need a win.
Michigan State is in a must-win situation. Their NCAA tournament streak is at stake, the team needs to break a three game losing streak. Their next opportunity is in their final home game of the season against Northwestern. The night will be senior night for the Spartans (some for the second year in a row), which provide a needed boost to get the win.
Game Time: Wednesday, March 6th at 7:00 pm (US East Coast Time)
Watch the game: BTN (Or through FoxSports App with a BTN subscription)
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Some basics to sound like a pro:
Michigan State:
The Spartans need a win. Actually, they need to win this game, the next game against Indiana and at least one in the Big Ten tournament to have 20 wins in the regular season. Lose this game and it may cement the Spartans on the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble. This was not supposed to be how this year went.
The Spartans started the year with talk of contending for a national championship. A slow start to the year that saw inexplicable losses to teams like James Madison and then an 0-2 start in Big Ten play changed that narrative quickly. After seemingly turning the corner and putting together an 8-2 stretch in Big Ten play, the Spartans are losers of their last three in a row.
Most dispiriting is their last loss was a very competitive game against Purdue – arguably the best team in the country. Even the veteran leaders of this Spartan squad acknowledged openly that if they competed like that regularly, they would have a much better record.
Instead, the Spartans find themselves searching for answers, hoping to take down a Northwestern team that beat them by 14 earlier in the season.
Michigan State seems to have the talent in fifth year seniors Tyson Walker and Malik Hall and veterans like senior point guard AJ Hoggard and Junior Jaden Akins. The (very) late season emergence of freshman Xavier Booker has added some juice in the last two games. The highly touted freshman scored double digits in the game against Purdue and started the games against Ohio State . It’s almost unfathomable, but the lineup for Michigan State is hardly clear with only two games remaining in the regular season.
Northwestern University
Northwestern is pretty good. Seriously. This is a team that was once a joke in the Big Ten. Fans need to adjust their perception. Northwestern is currently ranked third in the conference and has looked the part of a good Big Ten team all season.
Despite a 20-9 record, Northwestern was in almost every single one of their losses. Other than a blowout loss at Illinois, Northwestern has kept every game this year pretty tight. The highlight of their year may be that they beat Purdue, and lost to them in overtime this year. That’s a sign this team can bring it when they need to this year.
They have already beaten the Spartans by 14 this year. While that was at home and Northwestern is much shakier on the road (4-6 away from home), the Wildcats are going to be a lot for the Spartans to handle. Long time Spartan killer, Boo Buie is somehow still on the roster. He has loved carving up Michigan State’s defense for years.
Beyond him, three more players average double figures for the Wildcats. 6’6” Brooks Barnhizer could be a problem for the Spartans as he has the size and rebounding game to give the Spartans smaller guards issues. Barnhizer leads the Wildcats with 7.1 rebounds a game and scored 16 points in the last matchup against Michigan State.
The Spartans have the talent to handle the Wildcats – and it is Senior night – but this will be a tough game.
Predictions:
BBD: 78-74 MSU win
What are your predictions for the game? Let everyone know in the comments below.