Spartan Hoopla: Michigan-Michigan State Preview

Feb. 27, 2007: that was the last time that the Michigan Wolverines handed the Spartans a loss on the hardwood.

Raymar Morgan led Michigan State with 13 points in its 67-56 loss at Crisler Arena.

Since the 2000-01 season, the Spartans have dominated the series, winning 11-of-14 matchups.

Tom Izzo has his team primed for an 8-0 start in the Big Ten—something he hasn't done during his tenure at Michigan State. He has coached his way to a No. 5 ranking and his Spartans are 17-3 (7-0 Big Ten).

The Spartans have won nine of their last 10 contests, the Texas Longhorns handed them an "L" on Dec. 22, 79-68. Close games, comfortable wins—State has found a way to win at all costs over the last month.

Michigan has dropped three of its last five games, most recently stumbling to an up-and-down Purdue squad, 69-59.

Manny Harris, Michigan's star point guard, is leading the Big Ten in scoring—averaging just over 19 points per game.

DeShawn Sims, the Wolverines' dangerous and physical forward, is racking up 17 points per game (amongst league leaders) and pulling down 7.6 rebounds per contest (also amongst league leaders).

The Sims-Harris duo will have to be held in check if Michigan State wants to keep its perfect conference record intact.

Rebounding

The Spartans are a physical bunch, John Beilein knows that. 

State's last two games have served as a wake-up call for the team, dodging bullets against Iowa (W 60-53) and Minnesota (W 65-64) in the last week.

"Cleaning the glass" is a Tom Izzo trademark, and Michigan State leads the conference in offensive rebounding with 40.7 rpg; Michigan is 10th with 32.9 rpg.

The Spartans are known for their ability to out-hustle and out-rebound teams, they have the clear advantage in this category.

Three-Point Shooting

Chris Allen appears to have shaken the three-point shooting curse; he shot 4-for-7 against Minnesota on Saturday, finishing with 12 points.

Kalin Lucas shot 4-for-6, and his key three-ball with just over a minute to play gave the Spartans the boost they needed to get past the upset-minded Gophers.

As a team, the Spartans are fifth from downtown (Big Ten), hitting just under 35 percent (34.9) of their shots from beyond the arc.

Michigan has struggled with long-distance shooting, it's last in the Big Ten at 30 percent.

If Chris Allen's shooting slump is truly over, it could spell trouble for the Wolverines. Watch out for the now famous Beilein five-out motion offense, it could give Izzo's man-to-man coverage fits. 

Free-Throw Shooting

Michigan State has had a year-long struggle filling the basket from the charity stripe—Sparty is shooting a meager 68 percent, which is eighth in the league.

On the other hand, the Michigan Wolverines are third best in the Big Ten from the foul line, converting just under 73 percent of their attempts into points.

If the game comes down to foul shooting, the advantage goes to Michigan.

Scoring Offense

This one is short and sweet—Michigan State scores more points per game than Michigan does. That usually equals a win.

State puts up 10 more points per contest than its in-state rival does, 77 to 67 to be exact.

Michigan is eighth overall in scoring offense in the conference and will have to eclipse the 80-point mark (at least) if it wants to emerge with the win. 

Simple math would indicate a Michigan State advantage.

The Wolverines are 8-2 at home, the Spartans will enter Crisler with a 4-2 road record.

Home advantage means a lot in college basketball, will the Wolverines be able to use it to their advantage?

The last time Michigan State was handed a loss at home was Feb. 1, 2009 when Penn State knocked off the Spartans 72-68. The Wolverines would love to give MSU its first conference loss of the campaign. Beating the Spartans at the Bres' (Breslin Center) is just another motivating factor for Manny Harris and friends.

Beyond the numbers and stats, there's the hunger factor.

After upsetting UConn 68-63 last week, the Wolverines looked like the team that Big Ten experts figured they'd be—a good one.

Michigan was one of the handful of teams thought to be competitive in the race for the league title, but inconsistencies have hindered the team from playing its best ball.

Key wins against Ohio State and UConn prove that Michigan can get it done against "good" teams. The Wolverines will have to channel their upset-game in order to get past a high-flying Spartan offense.

Players to Watch

Michigan

Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims were mentioned as keys to a Michigan victory, but don't forget about the speedy sophomore Laval Lucas-Perry. Lucas-Perry only averages 6.3 ppg, but he's more than capable of doing some damage. He scored 16 points against Penn State on Jan. 7.

Penn State may be 0-7, but its record is deceiving, the Nittany Lions are capable of spoiling any team's party if Talor Battle can heat up.

Michigan State

It's the usual suspects for Sparty: Kalin Lucas, Raymar Morgan, Draymond Green, and Chris Allen.

Delvon Roe has stepped up as one of the team's leading rebounders—rebounding will be a factor Tuesday night if Michigan State wants to reach 8-0.

Durrel Summers has reached double figures in two of his last three games, and he'll need to continue that trend in the coming weeks to keep the ball rolling for Izzo and company.