Half of the teams are gone. It happened swiftly and occurred over the span of two days, leaving dreams crushed, tears shed and hopes of a national championship gone.
The other half are still alive. They still hold their dreams, their cheeks remain dry and their hopes of cutting down the nets in April endure. Michigan State men’s basketball falls into this category, as the Spartans continue marching into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
On Saturday, March 21, at 2:45 p.m., No. 3 seed Michigan State will tip off against No. 6 seed Louisville at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The winner advances to the Sweet 16 on Friday, March 28.
“I’m excited every time we move onto another game of the NCAA tournament,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “I thought we played one of our better games yesterday. Now we’re onto another day of tough preparation. [Louisville] has a couple of guys that can shoot and they have some depth, so it’ll be a good challenge for us.”
MSU comes off a dominating 92-67 victory over 14-seed North Dakota State. MSU limited the Bison from beyond the perimeter, was led by its core-four players and exhibited the necessary desperation that it takes to win in this tournament.
The Spartans and head coach Tom Izzo know their team doesn’t have the pure talent to match up with the best teams in the tournament. The Cardinals might not be a top seed, but even without their second-leading scorer, Mikel Brown Jr., MSU has a tough road ahead of them.
MSU has three of the top-150 players in the country according to EvanMiya.com, and six in the top-500. Louisville has four in the top-15 and its full nine-man rotation in the top-500.
“Last year we were strength in numbers,” Izzo said. “We played nine guys, anywhere from 16 to 28 minutes. Now we've got some 30-minute guys and we got some 10-minute guys, but those guys are just as important. So it's a little different, but it's still pretty similar. Usually, when you get to the tournament, you shrink your team. But our team is extended a little bit.”
Perimeter defense
Louisville shot better than 50% from 3-point range against South Florida. When opponents get hot from the perimeter, Michigan State loses. When they go cold, the Spartans win.
It’s a simple reality of Spartan basketball: when opponents shoot 25% or worse from 3-point range, Michigan State is 10-0 this season. The most recent example came against Ohio State, which shot 18% from beyond the arc against the Spartans.
To top its second-round opponent, Michigan State will need a similar performance.
“To stop [Louisville], you have to tackle them,” Izzo said. “They can shoot it from everywhere.”
Junior forward Coen Carr and freshman guard Jordan Scott showed the full potential of their defense against NDSU. They showed enough lateral quickness to wall off their opponents before driving to the paint. It was a first-round showing for MSU reminiscent of their time as the No. 1 defense in the nation.
Without Brown, the Cardinal guards will bear an extra weight upon their shoulders to deliver and execute. MSU will need to exploit the change in Louisville’s rotation and force turnovers deep into the game. The Cardinals turn the ball over 12 times per game, while MSU forces 10 per game. \
How can this translate to a team that scores 40% of its points from three-point land? It starts with the veterans who have been in this situation before.
The core-four leadership
Let the core-four shine. It’s been the mantra MSU has followed this season, and it’s been the defining force that echoes in the Spartan locker room.
Sophomore guard Jeremy Fears, senior forward Jaxon Kohler, senior center Carson Cooper and junior forward Coen Carr are leading the way for the Spartans this season. MSU has found a comfortable camaraderie within the group that not only scores points and secures rebounds but also leads others on the court.
Reliance on the core four only grows in the NCAA Tournament. In Thursday’s victory over North Dakota State, their leadership showed through trust on the court – trust in lobs to the big men, trust in help defense, trust in transition. Each player trusts that teammates will guard their man, convert their shots and avoid turnovers.
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Faith goes a long way. Against Louisville, the entire eight-man rotation needs to depend on one another, beginning with the four guys who experienced what a second-round loss feels like.
“We have a really good group of guys,” Cooper said. “The chemistry that we have and everything that we’ve been through has built our relationships.”
Against a weak Louisville post, the leadership of Kohler and Cooper will prove pivotal. The two big men combined for 32 points and 19 rebounds against NDSU. The Cardinal allowed 44 points in the paint against USF. Ball screens between Fears and the big men will be a great way to skirt around Louisville’s defense.
Similarly, the leadership of Fears and Carr around the perimeter is crucial against a hot Louisville offense that can score in multiple ways. That leadership shows in executing on offense against a shaky Cardinal defense and in providing physical defense against a sharp-shooting Louisville team.
Desperation
Playing with desperation has been a constant theme for Izzo since Michigan State’s poignant loss to UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. The Spartans were lost in the first half of that game but responded, showing the urgency Izzo has stressed over the past three weeks. The unsettling part: it looked almost effortless.
When every game is one-and-done, grit is required. It showed in VCU’s 19-point comeback and upset over North Carolina, and High Point’s late run to topple Wisconsin. Louisville knows the same thing. Izzo said he’s been on both sides, but as a three-seed, he enjoys being the team hunted in the tournament.
“I hope my team plays with a chip on their shoulder,” Izzo said. “Louisville can beat us in a lot of different ways.”
MSU will battle Louisville for the chance at a trip to the Sweet 16. The game will tip off on Saturday, March 21, at 2:45 p.m. in the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
