How can Michigan State basketball punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament and beat Minnesota on Thursday afternoon?
Michigan State basketball begins its postseason play on Thursday as they open up Big Ten play against Minnesota. The Spartans need a win as a loss could very well end their entire postseason just like that.
The Gophers are a familiar foe to MSU as they’ve split their two meetings this season. Can Michigan State end the season with a series win over the Gophers?
Here are three keys that will help the Spartans do so.
1. Limit Cam Christie
This may seem like a weird key for this matchup, but it is important based on the previous two meetings. In the Spartans’ win over Minnesota in East Lansing, they held Cam Christie to just eight points. To be fair, Christie still played well as he was 3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, but it was foul trouble that kept him out of the game.
In Michigan State’s loss at Minnesota later in the season, however, Christie went off for the Gophers. He finished with a team-high 19 points and shot a blistering 5-for-7 from 3-point range.
I don’t think this is a coincidence that Michigan State won when Christie didn’t contribute as much and lost when he played well. So finding a way to stop Christie has to be a priority.
2. Get Tyson Walker some help
Tyson Walker may have just turned a corner as the season came to an end. In the Spartans’ loss to Indiana, Walker exploded for 30 points. He finally looked like the version of himself from earlier this year. Unfortunately, those 30 points still weren’t enough to win the game.
In fact, Michigan State actually struggles when Walker scores in bunches. He has scored 25-plus six times in his MSU career, and the Spartans are 0-6 in those games. Now I’m not suggesting he needs to try and score less, but the offense clearly isn’t good enough when it’s just played through him. Michigan State needs to find ways to get other guys involved when Walker is playing well instead of just standing around and watching him play one-on-one.
3. Start fast
This is important in this game for many reasons. The obvious is that it’s important in every game. Michigan State has also struggled with starting fast all season, including the last two games when they only had seven points halfway through the first half.
In this game, however, it’s important to start fast because of how early of a tip it is. The game is an 11 a.m. local start, something that Michigan State basketball never has to deal with. Sure they’ve played many games that start at noon, but 11 a.m. is a huge difference.
There’s a good chance both teams come out a little flat because of the early start. But if MSU can instead start fast, they might be able to put the Gophers away early.
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