Michigan State basketball: 3 keys to beating No. 10 Illinois

Michigan State basketball faces its toughest Big Ten matchup of the season on Thursday night. How can the Spartans beat Illinois?

Michigan State basketball has their toughest game of the Big Ten season tonight. They travel to Illinois (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) for a massive matchup. The Spartans are 1-3 in the Big Ten and they can’t afford to go to 1-4, so this game feels like a must-win.

Here are three keys for tonight if MSU is going to win this game.

1. Keep the crowd out of the game

Illinois has one of the best atmospheres in the Big Ten. Their crowd routinely has an effect on the game and their student section is up there with how crazy the Izzone is. If Michigan State wants to win this game, we are going to have to keep their fans out of it.

How can we accomplish this? For starters, we need to get out to a fast start. Every fanbase is into the game when the game begins, but if we get off to a fast start then that immediately takes them out of it. It doesn’t even have to be a crazy start, but something like a 10-4 run would be good enough.

As everyone also knows, basketball is a game of runs. No matter how well the Spartans play on Thursday, Illinois will have really good moments and go on a few runs. What MSU needs to do well is weathering these runs. We need to turn their potential 10-0 run into a 6-0 run instead. In the loss to Northwestern, MSU let them blitz the last seven minutes of the first half, turning a tied game into a 15-point halftime deficit. The game was essentially lost at that point, and the Spartans can’t let that happen again.

2. Get Jaxon Kohler going

This might be more of a key going forward for the rest of the season, but it will still be important in this game nonetheless. According to Tom Izzo, Jaxon Kohler is a “full go” and will be 100 percent heading into this game.

We already know Jaxon is an excellent player, but why is it important for him to play well tonight?

For starters, an excellent game from Kohler will only raise his confidence going forward this season. He did play three minutes against Northwestern, but that hardly counts as him returning, so this is really his first game back since his injury. Also, Kohler’s post game is something Michigan State hasn’t had from its bigs this season. Kohler is able to create his own shot in the post while guys like Mady Sissoko and Carson Cooper don’t necessarily thrive in that role.

Finally, Illinois may not be prepared for Kohler. Since Kohler hasn’t played this season, they don’t have film on him. They don’t know what he is capable of and what the offense looks like with him on the floor. If Izzo schemes the offense around Kohler at times, that could really take advantage of Illinois not being prepared for him.

3. Control the glass

Rebounding is always a key stat to watch in any game. However, Illinois is one of the best rebounding teams in the country. The Illini are No. 12 in the country, averaging a +10 rebounding margin per game which is also No. 2 in the Big Ten. Michigan State, on the other hand, is only +2 on average which is No. 131 in the country.

If the Illini dominate the glass this game then I don’t think the Spartans stand much of a chance. They don’t need to beat Illinois by a lot in the rebounding battle to win this game. Heck, they might not even need to beat them at all. But if Michigan State basketball wants to win this game, it can’t let them get anywhere close to +10. If the Spartans can keep the rebounding margin within 2-3, I would call that a success.