Michigan State basketball: Get to know the No. 3 Arizona Wildcats

Michigan State basketball is getting set to take on Arizona on Thursday evening in Palm Springs. Let’s meet the Wildcats.

Michigan State basketball has another massive game in front of it. The Spartans take on the Arizona Wildcats on Thanksgiving at a neutral site in Palm Springs, Calif. This is Michigan State’s second of three marquee non-conference games, and they need a statement victory after the loss to Duke a week ago.

Let’s take a look at Arizona and get to know them a little better.

Arizona is off to a hot start

The Wildcats are off to a perfect 5-0 start this season and are No. 3 in the country. Four of those wins are against sub-par opponents, but they do have one impressive victory that makes me nervous. Arizona knocked off Duke in a true road game 78-73. Arizona being able to win at Duke, a team Michigan State struggled against, is not a good sign. That game alone makes me nervous, but Arizona has other things going for it as well.

Arizona’s offense has been on fire this season, averaging 99.6 points per game. This includes three games scoring at least 100, and a whopping 122 points in its season opener. I don’t care who your opponent is, 122 points is wildly impressive. The Wildcats have five players averaging double figures, with guard Kylan Boswell leading the way at 13.8 points per game. North Carolina transfer Caleb Love gets the offense going for the Wildcats and played a huge role in their upset win over Duke. Lastly, two of Arizona’s double-digit scorers are centers, which is bad news for us. Our presence down low has not been very good to start the year, so Arizona having two good options at center will be hard to overcome.

Arizona also isn’t a one-dimensional team. The Wildcats’ high-powered offense is matched with a pretty stellar defense as well. The Wildcats are giving up an average of 63 points per game, another solid number. As mentioned before, they have only played one quality opponent so far, so we have to take these stats with a grain of salt. Most teams, however, do not have a high-powered offense paired with a really good defense, so Michigan State is going have its hands full.

Can the Spartans overcome this?

The Spartans are going to have to bring their A-game if they’re gonna come away with a win. Thankfully, we have been trending that way recently. After a slow 2.5 games to start the season, Michigan State has seemingly turned a corner since the second half against Duke. Even though we lost to the Blue Devils, we looked very good in the second half offensively. MSU is also coming off two 20-plus point wins against Butler and Alcorn State this past weekend. Three-point shooting is also much better, with 17 combined makes over the last two games, which is a massive improvement from the first few games.

Michigan State’s defense also has been lights out to start the year. The Spartans are No. 9 in the country in adjusted defense, so hopefully we can slow down this Wildcats’ offense.

Michigan State needs this win. This win will get our season back on track, and have everyone believing in this group once again. This will not be easy, but Tom Izzo has won more improbable games before and we should never be counted out while he is on our sideline.