Michigan State basketball is going to the Final Four.

The Spartans upset top-seeded Duke in an instant classic Sunday afternoon.

MSU is playing as well as anybody in the country right now.

But so is Texas Tech, the Spartans' next opponent.

The Red Raiders have the nation's top defense and although he isn't Zion Williamson, Jarrett Culver is an outstanding player in his own right.

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Texas Tech knocked off the top two seeds in its region, defeating Gonzaga on Saturday afternoon in the Elite 8 and blowing out Michigan on Thursday night in the Sweet 16.

Here are some lessons MSU can learn from the Wolverines' 63-44 loss to the Red Raiders:

Limit turnovers

Part of what makes Texas Tech's defense so dangerous is its aggressiveness.

The Red Raiders are one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to forcing turnovers. Opponents turn it over on 23.1% of their possessions when they play Texas Tech.

Entering Thursday's game, U-M averaged just 8.9 turnovers per game — best in the nation. But the Wolverines couldn't stop giving it away against the Red Raiders. Michigan turned it over on the first two possessions of the game. Through the first 15 possessions, the Wolverines had six points and six turnovers. They finished with 14 in the game.

U-M was careless with the ball, throwing plenty of errant passes. It also fell into Texas Tech's trap — the Red Raiders play a "no-middle" style of defense, forcing opponents to drive on the sides of the court and along the baseline. Once that happens, Texas Tech will collapse in with help defense.

The Wolverines lost the ball several times by dribbling straight into help defense. MSU turned it over just seven times against Duke. The Spartans will have to continue being careful with the ball against Texas Tech.

Slow down Culver

Culver does everything for his team, leading it in points, rebounds and assists. Although he isn't a great outside shooter, he has a well-rounded offensive game and can score in the mid-range and at the basket.

Against U-M, Culver got out to a slow start when guarded by Charles Matthews. In the second half, the Red Raiders did a good job of getting more favorable matchups with off-ball action. Several times, Culver faced a different defender because of a switch, and he took advantage.

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Culver scored eight points on 4-for-11 shooting in the first half and attempted zero free throws. In the second half, he scored 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting and shot 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Matt McQuaid and Aaron Henry are solid individual defenders, but as U-M learned, it can take a lot more to stop Culver.

Keep poise

At some point, Texas Tech's defense will force MSU's offense into a drought. It could even happen multiple times. The Red Raiders are simply too good on that end of the court.

When that happens, it'll be important for the Spartans to keep their composure. For all of U-M's woes on offense, the Wolverines went into halftime down just eight.

And then they gave up a 12-2 run to Texas Tech, effectively ending the game. Michigan's defense played well in the first half, but the team allowed its struggles on offense to bleed over, and the Red Raiders put up 39 points in the second half.

Michigan State might find itself struggling on offense against Texas Tech. But it can't allow those struggles to carry over to the other end. And it'll have to find a way to get out of those situations without falling in a big hole.

Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang.