The MSU men’s basketball team left Iowa City, Iowa, with their tails between their legs — but the Spartans couldn’t be more jacked for 4 p.m. Sunday, when they head to Williams Arena in Minneapolis to battle Minnesota.
They want to prove they are indeed a serious threat on the road.
“It’s just a matter of being mentally tougher — getting that edge and having some confidence on the road,” senior center Drew Naymick said Monday about the No. 11 Spartans (15-2 overall, 3-1 Big Ten).
Naymick, coming off his best scoring effort of the season with 11 points, said Minnesota (12-3, 3-1) is quite a different environment, as Williams Arena, or “The Barn,” is used to having rowdy fans.
Guards
The Golden Gophers’ Lawrence Westbrook and Lawrence McKenzie make up the team’s very underrated backcourt — they can rack up points and assists in a hurry.
Yet lately, Westbrook hasn’t shown much, scoring 10 points and dishing out only eight assists in the first three Big Ten games combined.
MSU co-captains Drew Neitzel and Travis Walton know how to go on the road and win big games. They’ve done it in the past — and after the Iowa game, I’m sure they’re telling their team how to execute.
Both Spartans guards are highly ranked in the nation when it comes to assist-turnover ratio — Neitzel with 4.61 to 1 and Walton at 2.64 to 1.
Advantage: MSU
Forward/Center
Minnesota’s best games always arise when Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson play well. The two 6-foot-9-inch big men are the team’s backbone — leading the team in scoring with 14.1 and 10.9 points, respectively.
If Goran Suton and Naymick don’t rip down rebounds and keep Coleman and Tollackson out of the post, it could cause serious trouble for MSU.
Raymar Morgan is coming off a rough game after playing fewer minutes thanks to foul trouble.
Advantage: Minnesota
Bench
As long as Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, Marquise Gray and Chris Allen are coming off the bench for MSU, the team does not need to worry about sitting Neitzel, Walton or Morgan to get a quick blow.
The freshmen are truly living up to their hype — knocking down 3-pointers and finding ways to make plays.
Minnesota’s bench doesn’t compare – excepting Blake Hoffarber, who can become a threat from the 3-point arc if given the chance.
Advantage: MSU
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Intangibles
Minnesota has won two straight while MSU dropped its first and only road game of the Big Ten schedule.
The Gophers have everything to gain and nothing to lose, while MSU can’t afford to drop a second consecutive game away from Breslin Center.
Advantage: MSU
Coaching
Tom Izzo versus Tubby Smith twice in just more than two weeks. Both coaches are prestigious future hall-of-famers who know how to coach a team to victory.
Advantage: Even
