It won’t get any easier for Michigan State men’s basketball’s in its path to the Final Four. Instead, a group of juggernauts will wait their turn to cut down the nets at the end of the weekend.

Thirty-one national championships are shared among teams in the East Region, and this weekend’s Sweet 16 is shaping up to be an all-time battle of the best teams in college basketball. MSU faces No. 2 seed UConn in a matchup where the teams mirror one another Friday, March 27, at 9:45 p.m. on CBS.

Looking at the numbers behind this 2-3 matchup, you quickly realize how similar the Spartans and Huskies are. In the rankings, the teams are in lockstep, with MSU at No. 11 and UConn at No. 10 in the NET, No. 11 and No. 7 in the AP Top 25, and No. 9 and No. 10 per KenPom. 

Both have great wins and unfathomable losses. The numbers give the Huskies an edge in some areas, while the Spartans make up ground in others. 

Two well-balanced teams

UConn and MSU are two of eight teams remaining that rank in the top 30 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency (MSU: No. 22 in offense and No. 13 in defense; UConn: No. 30 and No. 11). MSU head coach Tom Izzo calls it the "right school." Still, both coaches employ an old-school, defense-and-rebounding philosophy that wears down opponents.

UConn showed an ability to slowly eat away at its opponents' confidence in the Round of 32. UCLA took a two-point lead, 44-42, with 15 minutes to go. UConn knew how UCLA likes to play slow, so they sped the Bruins up and went on a 14-0 run over the next four minutes, eight of those points coming from star forward Alex Karaban and never relinquished the lead.

Izzo and MSU can expect UConn to play a full 40 minutes. MSU has had a slightly hotter offense than the Huskies since the tournament began, but the real battle will be one of attrition. MSU's starters account for 71.6% of its scoring, while UConn relies even more heavily on its starters, who account for 81.5% of its points.

With nine of the 10 starters between the teams playing upwards of 25 minutes per game, bench help will be critical.