Michigan State basketball: 3 keys to beating Penn State in rematch

Michigan State basketball needs to do these three things to complete the season sweep of Penn State on Wednesday.

Michigan State basketball is back in action on Wednesday as they travel to Penn State. The Spartans have already beaten the Nittany Lions once this season, but the road hasn’t been kind to MSU this year. This also is another one of those games that feels like a must-win because a loss would destroy the Spartans’ NCAA Tournament resume.

To secure a win, here are three things Michigan State must do to keep the good times rolling.

1. Control Penn State’s two-headed monster

Penn State really only has two players who jump out to me as guys who could give MSU trouble. The Nittany Lions have two guys who score a majority of their points, with the rest of the team averaging in single digits.

Those two players are Kanye Clary and Ace Baldwin Jr. They are averaging 17.1 and 14.1 points per game for Penn State, respectively. In the first meeting between these two teams, the Spartans nearly shut Ace out, holding him to just two points. The same couldn’t be said for Clary as he finished with an impressive 21 points and five assists.

These stats don’t mean much because MSU won by 31, but I doubt the Spartans will win big this game. So these are the two guys Michigan State must stop if they’re going to win.

2. Win the turnover battle

Penn State is a solid team this year at not turning the ball over. They are averaging just 10.8 turnovers per game which is No. 83 in the country. Not great by any means, but certainly not bad either. But where the Nittany Lions thrive is turning their opponents over.

Penn State is averaging 15.4 turnovers forced per game which is No. 19 in the country. Combine all of that and Penn State is No. 10 in the country with a +4.6 average turnover margin. For comparison, MSU is No. 49 in the country with a +2.6 average turnover margin per game.

This shows that Michigan State is good in the turnover battle, but Penn State is even better. The turnover battle is one way for Penn State to keep itself in this game, so if Michigan State can win the turnover battle, its chances of winning this game improve immensely.

3. Stay consistent on offense

It’s time for Michigan State basketball to put its inconsistency issues to bed. This has been a struggle all season for most of their players, and it needs to end. Tyson Walker has been consistent all season and Malik Hall has been of late for the most part, but everyone else has been extremely up and down.

This doesn’t mean that guys need to score 20 points a night, but the leaders of this team can’t score less than five and expect to win. The Spartan leaders all played extremely well against Illinois, so they must keep that up in this game as well. This not only is important for this game, but it’s even more important for the rest of the season.