To beat No. 23 Ohio State on Saturday, MSU will first have to find a way to beat freshman guard D’Angelo Russell.
Easier said than done.
Men's basketball prepares to face off with Ohio State in crucial Big Ten game
Junior guard Denzel Valentine dribble the ball towards the basket around Illinois forward Leron Black Feb. 7, 2015, during the game against Illinois at Breslin Center. The Spartans were defeated by the Fighting Illini, 59-54. Erin Hampton/The State News
Russell has been one of the best players in college basketball this season, averaging 19.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists. His offensive ability is varied and skilled, as he can shoot, drive and pass with ease.
A home win over Ohio State (19-6 overall, 8-4 Big Ten) could push the Spartans into second place in the Big Ten, making the weekend match one of the most pivotal of MSU’s unpredictable season.
“I think he’s one of the best players I’ve seen in this league, one of the best guards I’ve seen in this league in a long time,” men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said Wednesday. “He can beat you with a shot ... he is one of the best passers I’ve seen here.”
MSU’s defensive game plan will mostly be tuned toward slowing down Russell. Izzo said they will throw “three or four” different players at him, with junior guard Denzel Valentine and senior forward Branden Dawson likely to be two of those players.
“And he’s big, he’s 6’5 or 6’4, so he can see over things,” Izzo said. “We’re going to throw a couple different wrinkles at him, but he’s going to get some points. We gotta make sure the other guys don’t get a lot of their’s.”
The men’s basketball team (16-8 overall, 7-4 Big Ten) had one of their best performances of the season on Tuesday, connecting on 13 of 25 three point tries to defeat Northwestern on the road, 68-44.
Izzo took a lot of positives from the game, with MSU’s defense being especially noteworthy. The Spartans held Northwestern to 14 points at halftime.
With Russell’s ability to keep the defense honest with his driving ability, Izzo said MSU’s ball screen defense will be key.
“What we did, I thought, was phenomenal and our bigs had something to do with it early,” Izzo said. “We didn’t give up some curls, we did a decent job on the ball screens. The ball screens in this game will be critical because he’s good enough to stop and pop, he’s good enough to get in the lane, he’s good enough to look over and see.”
Freshman guard Lourawls Nairn started over senior guard Travis Trice on Tuesday, and his energy and defense translated to the court for MSU. Izzo hasn’t decided his rotation for Saturday yet, saying MSU has “six starters” right now.
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