3 keys to a Michigan State basketball victory at Indiana

Michigan State basketball heads to Bloomington on Sunday for a bout with a suddenly hot Indiana team. Here’s how the Spartans win.

Michigan State basketball has its regular-season finale against Indiana on Sunday afternoon in what is yet another important game. Michigan State’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament are still high, but one more win would eliminate any threat of missing the field of 64.

Indiana is on a three-game winning streak, so beating the Hoosiers will be difficult.

Here are my three keys that will help MSU defeat the Hoosiers.

1. Find some sort of answer for Kel’el Ware

Michigan State likely is going to have some issues guarding Kel’el Ware. He is the starting center for the Hoosiers and is nearly averaging a double-double this season with 15.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. He also is the team’s leading 3-point shooter at 44.4%. Ware is also coming off a monster 26-point, 11-rebound game in his last outing.

Oh yeah, did I mention he’s also 7-feet tall?

Michigan State will have to find a way to slow him down. It will once again be center by-committee for the Spartans, but I think Xavier Booker could be the best option in defending him. Booker has the best lateral movement among the group, so he’s the best option to defend him in the perimeter. But Carson Cooper and Mady Sissoko are plus defenders as well and will have to hold their own against him.

Ware will be difficult to slow down, but if the Spartans want to win this game they’re going to have to find a way.

2. Force Indiana to shoot a lot of threes

This may sound like a crazy suggestion to make for an away game, but Indiana is not a good 3-point shooting team. They are No. 245 in the country at 32.8% from beyond the arc. They are a better shooting team at home, but that improvement still doesn’t make them a good team from distance.

Michigan State needs to defend inside-out in this game. This means they need to defend the paint first, go under on screens, and force the Hoosiers to shoot a lot of deep shots. If the Spartans lose this game because the Hoosiers happen to make a lot of threes, so be it. I can live with that knowing MSU made the right choice based on Indiana’s strengths and weaknesses.

3. Play extremely physical

Playing physical is important in every game, but MSU should bring even more physicality to this game for one specific reason. Indiana is an atrocious free throw shooting team. The Hoosiers are No. 333 out of 351 teams in the country in free throw percentage at an abysmal 65.9%.

Michigan State basketball shouldn’t be afraid of fouling Indiana in this game as they won’t gain any advantage from the extra trips to the line. This doesn’t mean MSU should be reckless, but a couple of smart fouls to prevent easy buckets would be wise.