MSU Cannot Overlook Tough OSU Team
The Michigan State Spartans are off to a great start to the 2024-25 season.
The calendar has turned to 2025, which means Tom Izzo’s Spartans will begin the full stretch of Big Ten play. MSU won their first two conference games last month by considerable margins.
However, they now take on what is expected to be one of the toughest teams in the conference: the Ohio State Buckeyes.
MSU struggled with OSU last season, as they lost at the Breslin Center on a Dale Bonner buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the corner. Bonner is no longer with the Buckeyes, but this is a talented team the Spartans will travel to Columbus to face.
OSU hired Jake Diebler as their full-time head coach after he did a solid job as the interim after Chris Holtmann was fired. He led the Buckeyes to a 6-2 record and an NIT quarterfinal round appearance.
Now, Diebler has the Buckeyes turning in the right direction. OSU is 9-4 with a 1-1 record in conference play. Going to the Schottenstein Center has always been tough for Izzo’s Spartans, and Friday night should be no exception.
OSU is led by junior guard Bruce Thornton, who leads the team in scoring with 17.4 points per game. Thornton is a three-level scorer with a tough defensive skill set, so MSU’s guards must be ready for the pressure he will bring.
One-time MSU recruiting target Devin Royal has taken on a bigger role for this Buckeyes team, averaging nearly 15 points and seven and a half rebounds. Royal’s game comes inside the arc, so if the Spartans can force him to take shots from the outside, they should have a better chance of winning the game.
The Buckeyes are sixth in the conference in scoring, sitting just above MSU at 82.8 points per game. They are the best three-point shooting team in the Big Ten, connecting on nearly 40 percent of their shots beyond the arc. MSU must defend the three-point line if they do not want to suffer an upset.
However, OSU ranks 147th in the country defensively, allowing nearly 70 points per game. The Buckeyes allow teams to connect on 38.1 percent of their three-point attempts, so MSU must continue their improvement from long range.
This game will be tough for MSU as it always is. The Spartans must maintain their positive momentum going into a raucous environment to continue their quest for a Big Ten championship.
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