Michigan State basketball: 3 keys to victory vs. Northwestern

Michigan State basketball needs to pick up a win on Wednesday night against Northwestern and here’s how the Spartans do it.

Michigan State basketball is back in action on senior night as it plays host to Northwestern. This game is as important as any others strictly because of the Spartans’ NCAA Tournament hopes. MSU also has revenge on its mind as the Wildcats have already beat MSU earlier this season.

Here are my three keys that will help Michigan State get the big win Wednesday night.

1. Contain Boo Buie

I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news is Michigan State has to play Boo Buie for what feels like the 100th time. The good news is this will likely be the last time MSU has to play him.

Buie has been a Spartan killer throughout his Northwestern career, and he is primed for another big game on Wednesday. He is coming off a monster 27-point performance in their last game. He also will likely be even more of a focal point in their offense because Northwestern could be down three players in this game due to injury.

So if Northwestern is going to win this game, it will be because Boo Buie had another great game. If MSU can contain him however, I don’t think it’ll be possible for the Wildcats to win. So the Spartans need to devote all of their defensive attention on slowing down the Spartan killer that is Buie.

2. Win the turnover battle

This is an important metric in every game, but it is ever more important against Northwestern. The Wildcats are one of the best teams in the country when it comes to turnovers. They are No. 6 in the country in turnovers committed per game at 8.9 and are also No. 16 in turnover margin at +3.7.

Thankfully for MSU, it’s pretty strong in this department as well. Michigan State basketball is No. 21 in the country with 9.8 turnovers per game and No. 39 in turnover margin at +2.7. So both teams are relatively comparable when it comes to taking care of the ball.

That’s why this battle is even more important in this game. With all of Northwestern’s injuries, there are only a few things they can do to win this game, and dominating the turnover battle is one of them. So if MSU can win the turnover battle, their chances of winning this game will skyrocket.

3. Consistency all game long

Lack of consistency has never been more noticeable to me than in MSU’s last game. The Spartans played extremely well against Purdue, but still lost the game 80-74. For large portions of this game Michigan State looked like they were on Purdue’s level. There were even moments where MSU looked better than Purdue. But there were too many stretches where MSU struggled that allowed Purdue to win this game.

This is something that needs to change and fast. Northwestern is a team that can beat MSU if they don’t play a full 40 minutes. So Michigan State needs to play well for a full game not just so they can win this game, but so they can also build their confidence going into the postseason.