Behind the direction of head coach Tony Bennett, the Cavaliers have made a statement as one of the nations’ best teams — and arguably MSU’s best opponent this season, too.

With a defense that holds opponents to a nation-lowest 55.5 points per game, Virginia was able to conquer the Atlantic Coast Conference by winning both the regular season and tournament title. As head coach Tom Izzo said, “they’re very worthy of the No. 1 seed.”

“They’ve gotten it covered in every way you can have it covered,” Izzo said. “And I think the bottom line is this is one of the best defensive teams in the country, the best if you look at points per game.”

The Cavaliers will be heading into the game with a notable size advantage over the Spartans. Guard London Perrantes is the shortest starter at 6-foot-2, but every other notable guard is 6-foot-5 or taller. Virginia’s notable big men all are at least 6-foot-8, with the tallest being center Mike Tobey at 6-foot-11.

The Cavaliers not only boast height, but they are one of the most physical teams in the tournament. Izzo said their Sweet 16 opponent reminded him of the “old” Big Ten, where gritty play ran through every team.

This will make the game a challenge down low for forwards Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson, who both set career-high scoring records over the first tournament weekend.

"They’re a pretty tough team on the inside,” Dawson said. “Coach talked about it, and he said they are kind of compared to Harvard bigs. You know, physical and they dunk the ball every time.”

Virginia also knows how to control the tempo of the game, keeping it low-scoring on both ends, as they only score 65.8 points per game. MSU will have to exploit the rare holes in Virginia’s defense to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

“They play great team defense, it’s not one-on-one — it’s one-on-five and one-on-three, because they’re in the gaps,” junior guard Travis Trice said. “You can tell they really care about each other and they’re sold out to win because they are giving away their individual stats so they can win, and you see that on the offensive and defensive end.”