Michigan State Basketball: Spartans among most dominant teams of late

Michigan State Basketball has been winning not just consecutive games going back to February but they also have been down the gauntlet and have come out unscathed.

Going back to last season on Feb. 20, the Spartans have not lost a game. There are many things impressive about Michigan State Basketball’s active 10-game winning streak. Let’s take a look by breaking down their remarkable consistency and relentlessness during their current winning streak.

• Six of those ten wins have been by double-digits.
• Four of Michigan State’s wins have been on the road and none of those games were in-state or at any of the surrounding states as well.
• Five of those wins have been against top 20 ranked teams.
• Two of those victories have been against the top 10 teams on the road.
• The average margin of victory has been just under 12 points.
• The Spartans are undefeated against ACC opponents during this span.
• Michigan State during their current ten-game winning streak beat four consecutive ranked teams in a row.

During this current winning streak, the level of consistency is remarkable as the Spartans lost two-star players in Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman who were both recently selected in the NBA draft and welcomed back this season previously injured Joshua Langford and transfer Joey Hauser who had to sit out last season.

The only two players who have been main factors and contributors during this 10-game winning streak is Rocket Watts and Aaron Henry. The defense has also been a solid constant factor during this stretch.

No team has scored over 71 points on the Spartans during this time period. In six games, the Spartans have held their opponents to under 70 points and they have done a much better job in comparison to years past in limiting made three-pointers by their opponents. Watts and Henry this season as well as Tillman last season, have been the anchors to this defense. However, it is not just their defense that has been impressive.

Michigan State is averaging just over 80 points per game during their current winning streak. Their lowest offensive output was 75 points when they defeated the Blue Devils on the road. Their highest offensive output was when they scored 86 points on the road against Nebraska. They could have been times, especially this season when the Spartans could have easily scored more but Izzo has inserted his bench early and often this season sometimes going 11-deep during multiple games.

To get a better understanding of how impressive this streak is, here is who the Spartans defeated and when Michigan State won their games during this current 10 game winning streak.

Thu, Feb 20
@ Nebraska
Tue, Feb 25
vs No. 18 Iowa
Sat, Feb 29
@ No. 9 Maryland
Tue, Mar 3
@ No. 20 Penn State
Sun, Mar 8
vs No. 19 Ohio State
Wed, Nov 25
vs Eastern Michigan
Sat, Nov 28
vs Notre Dame
Tue, Dec 1
@ No. 6 Duke
Fri, Dec 4
vs Detroit Mercy
Sun, Dec 6
vs Western Michigan

Michigan State travels to play in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to try to extend their current winning streak to 11 as they play technically, the defending national champions Virginia Cavaliers. After their game on Wednesday, the host Oakland, travel to Northwestern, and host Wisconsin then goes back on the road to play Minnesota to close out 2020.

Time will tell if the Spartans will end 2020 with a 15 game winning streak.