Duke Battles Michigan State In Must-See Matchup To Close ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Before the Final Four tipped on Saturday, April 3, if you asked most college basketball fans who they thought would appear in the National Championship game two nights later, Duke vs. Michigan State would have been a popular choice; however, Butler knocked the Spartans out, ending the possibility.

With that contrast in mind, here are some story lines to keep an eye on during tonight’s game.

While Duke has yet to play a true road game, claiming wins against Kansas State and Oregon in off-campus arenas in those teams’ backyards, Michigan State has visited slightly less-hostile environments so far. The Spartans have played, and won, three at home, and went 2-1 in Maui -- and remember that playing at the Lahaina Civic Center isn’t quite the same as visiting Cameron Indoor Stadium. While the Spartans roster is a veteran one, they’ve encountered numerous issues that could be magnified in such a difficult environment.

One of Tom Izzo’s concerns about his team so far this season has been taking care of the ball. The guys over at SB Nation’s Michigan State blog, The Only Colors, are particularly concerned with the Spartans’ tendency to give the ball away, even when facing a team that’s not sound defensively, like Sunday’s opponent, Tennessee Tech.

Six different Spartans turned the ball over at least twice, led by Korie Lucious, who turned it over twice early on very sloppy plays and finished the game with 4 giveaways.

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But the decision-making with the ball simply has to get crisper. To harp on something it seems like I’ve spent my entire blogging career harping on: Turnovers committed in the act of trying to create a scoring opportunity are unfortunate but acceptable. Turnovers committed in the act of trying to make routine basketball plays are simply costly.

And to further hammer the point, KJ closes the post with this tease about tonight’s game.

I’ll give you one guess what the “Key to the Game” will be in Tuesday night’s game preview . . .

Then again, Duke hasn’t been perfect on this front either; for example, note their 18-turnover performance against Marquette.

Rebounding is another area Tom Izzo is concerned about, but that may not be as big of a concern, especially since Duke has their own issues on that front. Mike Krzyzewski can’t be happy with how the Blue Devils rebounded in their CBE Classic triumph, as they barely outrebounded Marquette in the semifinals (33 to 30, with the Golden Eagles barely topping them on the offensive glass, 11 to 10) and were pounded on the boards by Kansas State (34 to 26 and 11 to 6 on the offensive side) in the final.

Over the past week or so, the Spartans have had to deal with a suspension and some relatively minor injuries that have hampered the team’s effectiveness.

Center Derrick Nix has returned to the team after missing the Maui trip for “personal reasons,” and he played five minutes against Tennessee Tech. Draymond Green played that one with a stiff back. On the islands, Kalin Lucas hurt his knee in the Spartans’ third-place win against Washington, while Korie Lucious also played in that one after rolling his ankle. The trio played a decent amount of minutes Sunday, but you have to wonder if they’ll be 100 percent for this one, considering the schedule (and travel) of the past week.

Of course, that game was played fairly late on a Tuesday night, Eastern time (What have I told you, TV broadcasters, about scheduling, and advertising, tip times?) opposite a Kentucky-Washington Maui semifinal and holiday preparations, so tonight’s matchup with the Spartans could really pump up Irving’s name recognition, something bound to happen at some point this season anyway.

Or he could struggle a bit, like against Marquette in the CBE semifinal (5 turnovers vs. 8 assists), but that’s less likely in the friendly environment of Cameron.

Finally, if Michigan State happens to lose this one, fans just need to relax a bit. Izzo’s last two teams have struggled a bit at various points in the season, falling to Florida in Atlantic City and losing at North Carolina and Texas in late 2009, and dropping games against Maryland and North Carolina in the first few weeks of the 2008-09 campaign. But both of those teams got things right and ended up in the Final Four.

The real concern will be if the Spartans don’t get things straightened out in time for the Big Ten portion of their schedule. The 2005-06 and 2006-07 Michigan State teams both dropped a couple of early season tilts (at Hawai’i and against Gonzaga in Maui in November of 2005 and against Maryland in New York and at Boston College in early 2006), then opened the Big Ten season with two straight losses. Those clubs were both eliminated during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

You can read more about this matchup at our Spartan blog, The Only Colors, and our Blue Devil blog, Duke Basketball Report. Each site will have a comprehensive preview from their team’s perspective.

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