How Michigan State Approaches Interesting Road Ahead
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No. 15 Michigan State impressed in its home win over UCLA on Tuesday night, making the Bruins look like they didn't appear on the same court, let alone in the same conference. Even UCLA head coach Mick Cronin thought it was the Spartans' most complete performance of the season, which is exactly what Michigan State wants to hear as March approaches.
The Spartans have five games remaining in the regular season, and they're hoping the confidence from the win can carry over and drive further success as they head to the postseason.
"That was very important for us. That was a big win for us, especially coming back home," freshman guard Jordan Scott said after the win. "It just set the tone -- playing hard and playing Michigan State basketball for the rest of the season."
Hitting the Road
It's the second time in recent weeks that MSU was visibly back to playing "Michigan State basketball," the other being an overtime win over Illinois following three bad games, and the Spartans must keep that mindset the rest of the way. While they haven't been entirely eliminated from a second straight Big Ten title, the road ahead is daunting and treacherous, featuring many of the conference's best teams and environments.
After hosting an underrated Ohio State team on Sunday, Michigan State will head to No. 7 Purdue and play three of its final four games on the road, including the season finale at No. 1 Michigan. The Spartans also have a trip to Assembly Hall on the docket. They had no trouble with Indiana the first time, but the venue is one of the Big Ten's most difficult for opposing teams. It's a bit of a change for MSU, which has been known to end the year at home during most of its recent seasons.
The good news is, after the Ohio State and Purdue games, the Spartans won't be facing anyone they haven't seen this season. Their final three games are all rematches, which hasn't happened all season.
"It is one of the most difficult things with this schedule, when you have all those first-time preps, especially if you go on the road and come back at four in the morning and now have two days for a first-time prep," head coach Tom Izzo said after Friday's practice. "If it's a second prep, it's a little bit easier, but I give my staff a lot of credit for that. They're the ones that have to go through it. And I give my scout team a lot of credit. They're the ones that have to learn our offense and theirs."
Next week will also be just the second time Michigan State plays back-to-back road games, heading to Purdue on Thursday and Indiana next Sunday. The other was the January West Coast trip to Washington and Oregon, resulting in a sweep for the Spartans. Agai, it's a change of pace and a bit of an odd quirk in the expanded conference's schedule, but it's also what the elite teams have to go through.
Recipe for success
Regardless of where the game is, or the opponent, Michigan State has a proven winning formula, and even with some struggles at times, don't expect that to change any time soon.
"I'm relying on what I've been relying on for 30 years," Izzo said. "We're going to defend them. We're going to do a better job guarding the three and try not to turn the ball over. Rebound the ball, get our running game going, and then, if we move the ball and get our running game going, we're going to get some shots."
That's just Spartan basketball, and that's how Michigan State plans to make its run. Play hard. Do the right things. Have a winning mindset. And suddenly, the wins build.
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-ac9f01ae65e71c7320d1c61247b2ecac.jpg "Travis Tyler")
Travis Tyler joined On SI as a writer in January 2026. He has experience contributing to FanSided’s NFL, college football, and college basketball coverage, in addition to freelance work throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth area, including high school, college, and professional sports for the Dallas Express and contributions to the College Football Dawgs, Last Word on Sports/Hockey, and The Dallas Morning News. In addition to his writing, Travis contributes video and podcasting content to Fanatics View and regularly appears as a guest analyst. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and SMU and is an avid Detroit sports fan with a deep knowledge and appreciation of sports history. Follow Travis Tyler on Twitter at @TTyler_Sports.