Michigan State Basketball is red-hot, riding a 13-game winning streak into a very important game at Purdue which could end up clinching them a one-seed down the road. What do the Spartans have to do to extend its winning streak?
When Michigan State Basketball is hot, they’re the most dangerous team in the country. The Spartans rode a couple huge winning streaks last year which sent them into serious final four talks. There was a 14-game winning streak that was snapped in the first week of January and then a 13-game winning streak which was ended by Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.
If the Spartans fall on Sunday afternoon, they could still end the season on a 10-game winning streak headed into the Big Ten Tournament. But the chances are very slim seeing that they still two against Michigan, on the road against Wisconsin and home against Nebraska. But the Boilermakers are the biggest threat until the two against Michigan. If it’s going to happen, at Mackey Arena on a Sunday afternoon would be the time.
Michigan State has certainly had its hands full lately. Iowa led for a good chunk of the game on Thursday, but the athleticism of Michigan State turned it on in the second half. Lincoln was going crazy last week for a big time match up, but again, the Spartans have scorers all over the place.
Joshua Langford has been out for seven games and the more time he misses, the worse it looks. Tom Izzo even said after the Iowa game that Langford isn’t returning in the near future. Yet Michigan State still finds ways to win. Junior Kyle Ahrens received a few starts in Langford’s absence, but then he got hurt and lost his starting gig to freshman Aaron Henry. Henry was the lowest recruited guy in one of Izzo’s not so good classes this year, but he’s making the biggest impact.
Whenever you’re playing alongside a point guard like Cassius Winston, the opportunity to be great is there. Winston is making the case for the nation’s best point guard. He’s averaging over seven assists, has the ability to pull up and shoot and plays solid defense.
Both Henry and Ahrens are averaging over six points per game since Langford went down. That’s solid enough seeing that Winston and Nick Ward both average over 16 points per game. Not to mention Matt McQuaid has found his stroke as of late. Michigan State did blow out Purdue 77-59 earlier this month at the Breslin. Mackey is a different animal and the Spartans will need to bring the energy that they had at Carver-Hawkeye in-order to keep things rolling.