Nebraska Basketball: Keys to Victory against Michigan State

The biggest game of the year up to this point features Tim Miles and his Nebraska basketball team facing one of the college basketball powerhouses in Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans. Make no bones about it, this is a ‘must win’ for Nebraska basketball to reach the NCAA tournament.

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Saturday’s game is being played in honor of Avery Harriman and Coaches vs. Cancer. Coaches will participate in the suits and sneakers initiative and as a special treat for the Red Zone, the Husker Sports Network will be passing out “#AveryStrong” shirts to the first 1,500 students to help turn the ‘Sea of Red’ gold. Additionally, Husker coaches and staff members (including football coach Mike Riley and Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst) will join the students in the Red Zone periodically throughout the game.

For such a big matchup, what should Nebraska basketball focus in on? These are my three keys to the game.

1) Keep the score in the sixties. It seems like this is an ongoing message for Tim Miles’ bunch, but it rings true. The Huskers just can’t score, so the best bet is to hold the team they’re facing to less than 70 points to have a chance. On the year, the Spartans are scoring 73.4 per outing.

For the Husker defense to come through they’ll need to get in passing lanes and close out on shooters on the outside. MSU is third in the country with 17.9 assists per game. They really can move the ball. Nebraska has to be tough on defense to win. Good thing, as that’s where they’ve made their hay this year.

Jan 20, 2015; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Terran Petteway (5) grabs the rebound in front of forward Walter Pitchford (35) and Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Maurice Walker (15) in the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska won 52-49. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

2) Find someone to be the third scorer. Would it surprise you if I told you that the duo of Shavon Shields and Terran Petteway combined for 35.3 points per game? That’s an incredible number for those two guys. The issue is that the other 13 players who have seen minutes this season are averaging only 34.5 points per game as a group. Walter Pitchford seems like the most likely candidate to join the scoring party as he’s averaging 7.6 PPG. Can he get it going against Sparty? The Huskers have to hope so.

3) Get to the free throw line and then convert on the attempts. Nebraska basketball on the season has converted 71.2% of their free throw attempts. If they want to pull off the upset they’ll need to attack the basket and get to the charity stripe and then convert. Perhaps the one player who needs to do this more than anyone else is Terran Petteway. He’s only made 69 of his 105 attempts (65.7%) on the year. If he can get to the rim and get some of Michigan State’s big men in foul trouble, plus make them pay by making the freebies, the Huskers have a chance.

Worth noting: Nebraska hasn’t been great from the free throw line, but the Spartans have been worse. They’re making free throws at just a 63.2% clip. This should give the Huskers more of a green light to play physical as it seems likely MSU will struggle from the line.

An extra special note from Tim Miles:

Take heed, Nebraska Basketball fans…come early, stay late and as always, Go Big Red!!