Michigan State Basketball: Keys for Spartans to beat Duke in Elite 8

By Ryan Kay | Mar 30, 2019

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 21: Aaron Henry #11, Matt McQuaid #20, Cassius Winston #5, Xavier Tillman #23, and Kenny Goins #25 of the Michigan State Spartans stand on the court during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Bradley Braves at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

1 of 4

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 16: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans meets with head coach Tom Izzo in the first half against the Wisconsin Badgers during the semifinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 16, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Michigan State Basketball returns to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2015 to take on Duke. The Spartans must get past the talented freshmen of the Blue Devils and it should be a great game between two blue blood programs.

Michigan State Basketball enters the Elite Eight with a 31-6 record and currently being ranked #3 in the Kenpom.com rankings. The Spartans won a share of the Big Ten championship with fellow Elite Eight participate Purdue and won the Big Ten tournament title prior to the NCAA Tournament.

The Duke Blue Devils enters the contest with the Michigan State Spartans having a record of 32-5, and having won the Atlantic Coastal Conference tournament title. Both teams are currently ranked in the top-4 of the Kenpom rankings and the Spartans and Blue Devils will do everything they can to reach the goal of going to the Final Four.

Michigan State’s Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo is in his 24th season as a head coach of the Spartans. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke’s Hall of Fame head coach who has coached the Blue Devils since 1980, is in his 39th season as the head of the Duke program. Both coaches have an enormous amount of wins as head coaches at the collegiate level with Krzyzewski having over 1,000 wins and Izzo with over 600 wins as head coaches in Division 1.

This blue blood match up is a very intriguing one as the very talent Duke freshmen go up against the veteran lead Spartan squad. However, there is more to this Elite 8 showdown than many realize. Let’s take a look at three keys to a Michigan State victory over Duke.

Home/Michigan State Spartans