Spartan Hoopla: Defending Evan Turner Will Be Michigan State's Focus

Sunday's matchup between the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans and 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes is more than just an important game—it's one of the games that will decide who's going to take the league title.

Ohio State's (10-4, 20-7) Evan Turner will no doubt be one of Tom Izzo's focuses going into tomorrow's duel with Thad Matta's club.

Izzo's Spartans (11-3, 21-6) have struggled to defend some of the Big Ten's elite scorers, keeping conference-leading Turner (19.5 ppg) at bay will be a tall task for Michigan State.

Purdue's Etwaun Moore, Wisconsin's Jason Bohannon, and Illinois' Demetri McCamey have all had their way with Sparty earlier this season. The buck must stop with Ohio State's 6'7" guard-forward.

Turner is dangerous from every angle, which has translated into the Bucks' recent 6-of-7 winning clip. Matt Painter's fourth-ranked Boilers (10-3, 22-3) edged Matta's men 60-57 last Wednesday, but Ohio State's current play indicates that there's no signs of it slowing down anytime soon.

In short, Michigan State will have its hands full.

Probable All-American and conference first-teamer Kalin Lucas will be have the chore of guarding Turner. The 6'1" Lucas is known for his quicks, and he's likely one of the only men in green and white that can run the floor with the Buckeyes' explosive National Player of the Year candidate.

Raymar Morgan and Chris Allen have both turned up their defensive prowess a notch. Morgan and Allen will have the pleasure of rotating with Lucas in an attempt to handle Matta's top scoring threat. Allen has been recognized as one of the Izzo clan's premier defenders—he'll have to bring his track shoes come Sunday if he wants to stay with Turner.

With a win, the Spartans can further their command of the Big Ten. Their three-game slide is now a thing of the past, and thanks to Lucas' leadership abilities and solid efforts from Draymond Green, the team is now enjoying a two-game upswing.

Beating the Buckeyes at home is critical, as will be Sparty's road trip to West Lafayette's Mackey Arena on Feb. 28 when the Izzo clan takes on Painter's crew in the rematch of the Big Ten's Game of the Year. Most Spartan fans would like to forget the 76-64 thumping delivered by Moore and company on Feb. 9., it wasn't pretty. With just four games left on the league schedule, each contest becomes a must win.

The Spartans will have to get past Ohio State (Feb. 21), Purdue (Feb. 28), Penn State (March 4), and bitter in-state rival Michigan (March 7) if they want to win their sixth league title under coach Izzo.

As Izzo stated at the beginning of Big Ten play, four losses should be be good enough to land a league crown. The Spartans can ill-afford a set back, especially at the hands of the Buckeyes or Boilers.