While in Indianapolis for the Big Ten men's basketball tournament, Jeanna Trotman visits popular landmarks in the city to show some keys the Spartans will need to focus on to secure a win against the Badgers in the tournament quarterfinals.
Here's why I was carrying a bottle of @stelmo shrimp cocktail sauce around downtown Indianapolis today.
— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) March 11, 2022
Keys to a @MSU_Basketball win over Wisconsin via a tour of Indy w/stops at the Indianapolis Speedway, St. Elmo's, and the Peyton Manning statue @ Lucas Oil Stadium. pic.twitter.com/ro1lPMINfl
Keys to the game:
- A strong performance from freshman Max Christie is key. He is someone Tom Izzo has believed and supported all season long, despite some ups and downs, particularly in rebounding. In Michigan State's regular season finale against Maryland, Christie only scored 6 points. But less than a week later, Christie led the Spartans in both scoring and rebounding. Having Christie's presence on both offense and defense will be key for Michigan State hoping to get by the co-Big Ten conference champions.
- Minimizing turnovers and strong leadership from the point guard position will be needed against Wisconsin and the conference's player of the year. Against Maryland, a game Michigan State nearly lost, Tyson Walker committed four turnovers, the most out of the Spartans. If Walker can lead his team with ball security as a focus, they can keep Wisconsin at bay.
- Starting hot, but staying hot. All season long, Michigan State has shown flashes of brilliance, but in many games, they've fallen back or let off the gas pedal. Against Maryland, in the Big Ten tournament, Michigan State committed seven turnovers in the final 2:26 of the game and nearly lost. If Tom Izzo and the Spartans can stay consistent from start to finish, they are capable of moving on to the tournament semifinal round despite a lack of postseason experience.
