Michigan State fans are familiar with the Foster Loyer Experience, bearing the green and white for three seasons in East Lansing. A four-star prospect out of Clarkston High School, Loyer was the third-highest ranked prospect in Michigan and appeared to be the Spartans’ point guard of the future, notably dropping 40-points at the Breslin Center in the Class A state championship in his final high school game. 

Loyer never found his footing at MSU and struggled to crack consistent playing time. The deep shooting stroke was never in question, a 36.1% shooter across three seasons, but Loyer never progressed at the rate many expected, particularly as a defender and facilitator. Some games from Loyer were great, while others were modest at best. 

He earned the starting point guard position in the 2020-21 season opener versus Eastern Michigan, scoring 20 points and connecting on six three-pointers. For once, it appeared Loyer had taken a massive leap and could live up to that potential as a high school recruit. But from there out, his production took a massive dip and so did his minutes. 

Loyer entered the transfer portal and landed at Davidson, where he has resurrected his career and helped carry Davidson to a 27-6 record.  

As the Wildcats’ full-time starter, Loyer has looked like his high school self, averaging 16.9 points and 3.4 assists per game. He’s rediscovered his shooting stroke, connecting on 45.8% of shots from the field and 45% from downtown. Loyer notched a career-high 35 points versus Northeastern in December and has 10 games over 20 points. 

When the two teams meet Friday, it is safe to expect a different Foster Loyer than what was seen in East Lansing. 

KenPom has Michigan State and Davidson neck-and-neck in its rankings, slotting MSU at 40 and Davidson at 41. Offense is the identity of the Wildcats, scoring 75.6 points per game and a 116.8 adjusted offensive efficiency, 11th best in the nation. Davidson has three other scorers outside of Loyer averaging double-digit points: junior guard Hyunjung Lee (16.0), senior forward Luka Brajkovic (14.2), and redshirt junior guard Michael Jones (11.9). 

The strong offense powered Davidson to the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference, a 15-game win streak from Nov. 19 to Jan. 26, and a signature 79-78 win versus No. 10 Alabama.

Loyer and the Wildcats made it all the way to the conference championship game, matching up versus the No. 6 seed Richmond Spiders. The Spiders squeaked out a narrow win, scoring the game’s final seven points to win, 64-62, and complete a Cinderella, bid-stealing berth to the NCAA Tournament. 

Davidson Head Coach Bob McKillop is in his 33rd season at the helm, distinctively taking the Wildcats and Stephen Curry to the 2008 Elite Eight. However, Davidson has yet to win an NCAA Tournament game since that magical season, most recently falling in the round of 64 in 2018 as a 12 seed.