Michigan State basketball: Significance of the win over Maryland

Michigan State basketball took down Maryland on Sunday afternoon but how important was this win in College Park?

The significance of the Spartans’ 61-59 win over Maryland can’t be overstated. This is one of those games that Michigan State basketball could look back on as the turning point of the season. The game might have been ugly, especially in the second half, but this game may have just been the most important win this season.

Here are three reasons why this win is extremely significant for this team.

1. Proving it can win in multiple ways

MSU has now shown us that it can win in multiple ways. The Spartans had countless games where their offense led them to victory, most noticeably against Baylor. But what we haven’t seen is Michigan State winning solely because of their stellar defense. That is until these last two games.

With both the Minnesota and Maryland games coming down to the wire, it was the Spartans’ defense that turned it on to help win these games. That’s a pretty easy thing to do at home with the crowd on your side, but it is much more difficult to do on the road. So Michigan State winning two games in a row, one at home and one on the road, because of their defense proves to us that this team can win in many different ways.

2. Winning on the road tells us a lot

As I started to discuss above, winning on the road means everything. Any team can win at home, but it takes a mentally strong team to beat another good opponent on the road. This is something we haven’t seen MSU do yet this season. Before their win over Maryland, they had failed to win outside the state of Michigan.

In my opinion, a team can’t be labeled as “good” unless it can win on the road. Now one road win doesn’t prove much yet, but it does show us what is possible. It proves they can go into a hostile environment, with everyone against them, and still find a way to win. If the Spartans can do the same on Friday against Wisconsin, then this team will officially have turned the corner in their season.

3. Back in the Big Ten hunt

Now this win doesn’t put Michigan State back in the race for a Big Ten title quite yet, but a loss would’ve ended all hope. A loss would’ve taken Michigan State to five losses, all but ending any realistic chance of winning the conference crown. But this win extends this hope another game longer, and the next one would do wonders in this quest.

Michigan State travels to Wisconsin on Friday night for a rematch against the Badgers. Wisconsin already won in East Lansing in December, so the Spartans are hoping to return the favor later this week. Winning this game would put Michigan State basketball firmly back in the Big Ten race.

Wisconsin is the No. 1 team in the conference, so beating them automatically puts MSU closer to the top. But another thing to consider is MSU’s easier schedule coming up after Wisconsin. The Spartans’ eight games after Wisconsin are all winnable, with the most difficult being a home game against Illinois. So if MSU can beat Wisconsin, there’s a chance their win streak could get pretty lengthy before they lose again. This would give all the teams in front of the Spartans a chance to keep losing, putting MSU right in the thick of the race come March.

This win against Maryland was immensely important for this season. So much so that I’d bet if Michigan State goes on to have a great finish to the year that this game is the one we all look back on as to where the momentum began.