Michigan State Basketball: 3 keys to success against Ohio State
3. Michigan State must try to stay out of foul trouble
If Michigan State hopes to come away with a key conference win, they will have to stay out of foul trouble because the Buckeyes are one of the better free throw shooting teams in the land. Ohio State currently sports a 72.2% free throw percentage, and that percentage comes from both an abundance attempts and makes.
Their 317 attempts place the team 41st in the country and making 229 of those attempts is the 34th highest number nationally. The majority of attempts have been made by Wesson and senior C.J. Jackson, those two have put up 151 free throws this season, while the other six players that average at least 12 minutes per game have shot a total of 142.
Committing fouls have been a small issue for the Spartans this season. They’ve committed a total of 264 fouls for an average of 18.9 per game. Their foul total ranks 264th in the country but the number puts them closer to the worst team in the country at committing fouls, Norfolk State than it does to the leader, Tennessee-Martin who has committed 97 fewer fouls than the Spartans.
Next. Takeaways from Big Ten non-conference play. dark
Keeping Ohio State off the charity stripe will be an important factor in whether Michigan State can get the key road win. No matter what, this should be an extremely fun matchup between two of the best teams in the best conference in America.