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Breaking down Friday’s South Region first-round game between No. 2 seed Michigan State and No. 15 seed Bryant:
Records: No. 6 Michigan State (27-6, 17-3 Big Ten); Bryant (23-11, 14-2 America East Conference).
Fast facts: Appx. 10 p.m., Friday; Rocket Arena, Cleveland.
TV: TBS.
At stake: Winner faces winner of No. 7 seed Marquette vs. No. 8 New Mexico winner on Sunday for spot in Sweet 16.
Location: East Lansing.
Coach: Tom Izzo (30 seasons at MSU, 734-301 career).
School tournament record: 73-36 in 37 appearances.
Past 10 games: 8-2.
Scoring leaders: Jaden Akins, 12.7, Jase Richardson 12.0, Tre Holloman 9.0.
Rebounding leaders: Jaxon Kohler 7.6, Carson Cooper 5.0, Szymon Zapala 4.0.
Assist leaders: Jeremy Fears Jr., 5.5, Holloman 3.8, Richardson 1.9.
3-point leaders: Richardson 41.2%, Fears 37.5%, Kohler 34.0%.
RELATED: Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball's NCAA tournament draw – Bryant in Cleveland and perhaps Auburn down the road
The buzz: In winning Izzo’s record-tying 11th Big Ten regular-season title, the Spartans earned their highest seed since getting a No. 2 in 2019, when they went to his most recent of eight Final Fours and, in 2016, when MSU lost its opening game to 15-seed Middle Tennessee State. The Spartans carried an eight-game win streak into its Big Ten tournament semifinal loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, and they also won 13 in a row between the end of November through the end of January. The Spartans rank second in the country in 3-point defense (27.9% allowed) to offset being 325th out of 355 Division I teams at 30.8% made. Richardson since entering the starting lineup on Feb. 8 has been a late-season catalyst to the 10-man rotation, with the 6-foot-3 freshman combo guard averaging 17.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 30.5 minutes over the past 11 games. Kohler has emerged as a pivotal post presence who can step out and shoot or use finesse underneath. He, Cooper and Zapala attack the offensive glass for a team that ranks 13th nationally at 39.82 rebounds and fifth in rebounding martgin at plus-9.1 per game. This will be the first meeting ever against Bryant.
Location: Smithfield, Rhode Island
Coach: Phil Martelli Jr. (43-24 in two seasons overall at Bryant).
School tournament record: 0-1 in one appearance.
Past 10 games: 9-1
Scoring leaders: Rafael Pinzon 18.5, Earl Timberlake 15.5, Barry Evans 13.5, Connor Withers 11.3.
Rebounding leaders: Timberlake 8.2, Evans 6.9, Keyahawn Mitchell 6.9.
Assist leaders: Timberlake 4.7, Wither 3.4, Evans 2.7.
3-point leaders: Hubbard, 38.7%; Trey Fort, 34.9%; Moore, 34.8%.
The buzz: It took just two years for Martelli – the son of the retired former Michigan assistant and Saint Joseph’s head coach – to turn the Bulldogs into a regular-season and postseason tournament champion. The 43-year-old, who played for his dad at Saint Joseph’s, was named America East coach of the year. This is the first NCAA appearance for Bryant, which moved to Division I from Division II in the 2012-13 season, since its 2022 March Madness debut in the First Four. The Bulldogs go about eight deep in their rotation and have the nation’s 17th-highest scoring offense at 82.4 points a game, led by a pair of big and experienced 6-foot-6 transfer guards in Pinzon (St. John’s) and Timberlake (Memphis). Bryant, which has lost just twice in 18 games since January, also ranks fourth in rebounds per game (41.47) and 18th in offensive rebounding (13.41). The 6-11 Mitchell (8.4 points) and 6-8 Withers and Evans provide size inside. However, the Bulldogs are 141st in the NCAA's NET ranking and went 0-4 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents, with its only high major opponent of the season a 22-point loss at St. John's on Dec. 11.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: March Madness: Scouting Michigan State vs Bryant in NCAA tournament
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Records: No. 6 Michigan State (27-6, 17-3 Big Ten); Bryant (23-11, 14-2 America East Conference).
Fast facts: Appx. 10 p.m., Friday; Rocket Arena, Cleveland.
TV: TBS.
At stake: Winner faces winner of No. 7 seed Marquette vs. No. 8 New Mexico winner on Sunday for spot in Sweet 16.
About MSU
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Location: East Lansing.
Coach: Tom Izzo (30 seasons at MSU, 734-301 career).
School tournament record: 73-36 in 37 appearances.
Past 10 games: 8-2.
Scoring leaders: Jaden Akins, 12.7, Jase Richardson 12.0, Tre Holloman 9.0.
Rebounding leaders: Jaxon Kohler 7.6, Carson Cooper 5.0, Szymon Zapala 4.0.
Assist leaders: Jeremy Fears Jr., 5.5, Holloman 3.8, Richardson 1.9.
3-point leaders: Richardson 41.2%, Fears 37.5%, Kohler 34.0%.
RELATED: Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball's NCAA tournament draw – Bryant in Cleveland and perhaps Auburn down the road
The buzz: In winning Izzo’s record-tying 11th Big Ten regular-season title, the Spartans earned their highest seed since getting a No. 2 in 2019, when they went to his most recent of eight Final Fours and, in 2016, when MSU lost its opening game to 15-seed Middle Tennessee State. The Spartans carried an eight-game win streak into its Big Ten tournament semifinal loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, and they also won 13 in a row between the end of November through the end of January. The Spartans rank second in the country in 3-point defense (27.9% allowed) to offset being 325th out of 355 Division I teams at 30.8% made. Richardson since entering the starting lineup on Feb. 8 has been a late-season catalyst to the 10-man rotation, with the 6-foot-3 freshman combo guard averaging 17.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 30.5 minutes over the past 11 games. Kohler has emerged as a pivotal post presence who can step out and shoot or use finesse underneath. He, Cooper and Zapala attack the offensive glass for a team that ranks 13th nationally at 39.82 rebounds and fifth in rebounding martgin at plus-9.1 per game. This will be the first meeting ever against Bryant.
About Bryant
You must be registered for see images attach
Location: Smithfield, Rhode Island
Coach: Phil Martelli Jr. (43-24 in two seasons overall at Bryant).
School tournament record: 0-1 in one appearance.
Past 10 games: 9-1
Scoring leaders: Rafael Pinzon 18.5, Earl Timberlake 15.5, Barry Evans 13.5, Connor Withers 11.3.
Rebounding leaders: Timberlake 8.2, Evans 6.9, Keyahawn Mitchell 6.9.
Assist leaders: Timberlake 4.7, Wither 3.4, Evans 2.7.
3-point leaders: Hubbard, 38.7%; Trey Fort, 34.9%; Moore, 34.8%.
The buzz: It took just two years for Martelli – the son of the retired former Michigan assistant and Saint Joseph’s head coach – to turn the Bulldogs into a regular-season and postseason tournament champion. The 43-year-old, who played for his dad at Saint Joseph’s, was named America East coach of the year. This is the first NCAA appearance for Bryant, which moved to Division I from Division II in the 2012-13 season, since its 2022 March Madness debut in the First Four. The Bulldogs go about eight deep in their rotation and have the nation’s 17th-highest scoring offense at 82.4 points a game, led by a pair of big and experienced 6-foot-6 transfer guards in Pinzon (St. John’s) and Timberlake (Memphis). Bryant, which has lost just twice in 18 games since January, also ranks fourth in rebounds per game (41.47) and 18th in offensive rebounding (13.41). The 6-11 Mitchell (8.4 points) and 6-8 Withers and Evans provide size inside. However, the Bulldogs are 141st in the NCAA's NET ranking and went 0-4 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents, with its only high major opponent of the season a 22-point loss at St. John's on Dec. 11.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: March Madness: Scouting Michigan State vs Bryant in NCAA tournament
Continue reading...
