Former TV analyst and Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher was clear in his answer when asked by Sports Headliners what Minnesota must do today to defeat Michigan State in East Lansing. “Defensively, they’ve got to stop Michigan State from getting any transition baskets, either from defensive steals or from fast breaks,” he said.
“In the half-court Michigan State struggles to score, but you let them get some transition baskets and then they can be really dangerous. To do that (prevent transition scores), you gotta cut down on your turnovers and be pretty selective on your shot selections.
“A lot of fast break baskets come from missed threes. They (those three point attempts) rebound out and the other team scoops them up and takes the transition. So I think if I look at Minnesota, they’ve got to stop the fast break, make Michigan State score in the half-court and just cut down on their turnovers.”
The nationally No. 14 ranked Gophers, 0-1 in the Big Ten and 11-2 overall, will go against a No. 24 rated Spartans team playing their first conference game after a difficult nonconference schedule that included losses to No.1 Duke, No. 5 Syracuse and No. 13 Texas. The 8-4 Spartans have not only faced outstanding opponents but a busy schedule that has limited practice time.
“My little son asked me what I wanted for Christmas,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “I said practice.”
As of late the Spartans have been getting more of that. While the Gophers opened their league schedule with a 68-60 loss at Wisconsin on Tuesday night, the Spartans haven’t played a game since December 22 when Texas beat them 67-55 in East Lansing.
“…Texas really kicked their behinders,” Dutcher said. “I think they will be fired up to play (today). They don’t lose often at home. I would guess going into the game the spread will be…Michigan State by three or four.”