Michigan State vs Ohio State: Round 2

It’s been a about a week since Michigan State last took the court and tonight they hope to show no signs of rust as they take on Ohio State. The two teams faced each other on Valentine’s Day and the Spartans pulled out a close, three point victory.

Ohio State will be looking for revenge as they did everything to beat the Spartans the last time the two faced off. Their last meeting was a tight one as neither team won the battle of the boards and both shot around the same percentage from the floor, this time around should be no different.

Michigan State needed a prayer and a good shot from guard, Denzel Valentine, to lock up their close victory, to secure a victory over one of their biggest rivals.

This game will be a battle of two of the premiere schools in the Big Ten. Since the start of the tournament, each school has taken home four Big Ten Championships while no other school has more than two.

Seeing as how the Buckeyes will still have the sour taste of defeat in their mouths, I’m sure this game will not be just as dramatic the first time these two meet in February.

If MSU wants to win and better their chances of securing a more favorable seed in the NCAA tournament, there are three things the team must do.

Free throws. If I wanted to, I could copy and paste everything I’ve written about the Spartan’s free-throw woes and it still be true. The last time these two meet, Michigan State got to the line seven times and only made four. Throughout the season, MSU has been in the bottom third of college basketball in free throw percentage, staying in the mid to low sixty percent range. In fact, MSU’s 63 percent from the free throw line was the lowest for the team since the mid 70’s.

Getting to the charity strike and converting have been the Achilles hill for MSU and has placed them in tight places at times.

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Ohio State’s numbers from the line are not mind-blowing – just 68 percent – but, it’s imperative for MSU to show the desire to get to the line and actually knock them down, if they want another Big Ten Championship.

Rebounding. Michigan State is 15^th in the nation with a plus seven rebounding margin. Led primarily by forward Branden Dawson, the majority of the teams wins came when they were on the winning side of the battle of the boards.

Victories on the boards on nearly every level of basketball will always give you a win or at the very least put you within striking distance of a win.

Ohio State on the other hand is 82^nd in the nation with a plus three rebounding margin.

Dawson, Schilling and the rest of the Spartans have to be aggressive on the boards and make sure Ohio State does not find a way to win the rebounding battle.