- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 409,607
- Reaction score
- 43
Michigan State basketball is gearing up for the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, making the road trip down to Atlanta for the Sweet 16, and potential Elite 8 matchups.
First up for the Spartans in Atlanta is the Ole Miss Rebels of the SEC. The Rebels, coached by Chris Beard, are a tough nosed, gritty team making their first appearance in the Sweet 16 as a program since 2001, and just the second ever second weekend in program history.
Coming into the matchup with the Spartans, the Rebels are a No. 6 seed and carry a record of 24-11, picking up nice wins against North Carolina and Iowa State to get to this point.
With Friday's matchup on the horizon, it is time for Spartan fans to get up close and personal with Ole Miss. Here, we are going to break down five key trends in the scouting report that will make or break this Sweet 16 game:
When looking at the Rebels from a numbers standpoint, two really good things jump off the page. Ole Miss does a phenomenal job taking care of the ball, ranking No. 4 in the country in turnover rate, not allowing their opposition to gain extra possessions.
Conversely, Ole Miss does a very good job at turning their opponents over. The Rebels rank at No. 34 for opposition turnover rate, doing a great hob at getting themselves extra possessions.
While we touched on a good for the Rebels, here is a bad, and something the Spartans can take advantage of. Ole Miss ranks 314th in offensive rebounding percentage and 204th in defensive rebounding percentage, showing that they are not a good rebounding team at either end of the court.
Michigan State will have the ability to take advantage of this, playing to a strength of the Spartans.
First a good, then a bad and now a neutral. When assessing how well Ole Miss does with fouls, they are pretty neutral in both categories, although slightly on the good side. The Rebels rank at 95th in the country at drawing fouls, while ranking 261st at fouls per game.
So, the Rebels are above average in both categories, but it is not something that they are necessarily great at. It will be something Michigan State is able to potentially exploit in this matchup, as the Spartans rank No. 15 nationally in drawing fouls.
Exactly like MSU, Ole Miss has played 18 quad 1 games this season, and have the No. 6 adjusted strength of schedule in the nation. All of that adds up to a team who is as battle tested as they come.
Ole Miss will not be afraid of the big stage, and will need to be a team that is eager to go up against a team like Michigan State.
It is no secret who is on the other sideline, and Tom Izzo knows how good Chris Beard coached teams can be. Beard runs a rugged style, and a style that has had a ton of success in March. The Spartans head man is going to meet a near equal in the coaching department, and an experienced guy who knows what it takes to win a game like this.
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State basketball's matchup with Ole Miss broken down
Continue reading...
First up for the Spartans in Atlanta is the Ole Miss Rebels of the SEC. The Rebels, coached by Chris Beard, are a tough nosed, gritty team making their first appearance in the Sweet 16 as a program since 2001, and just the second ever second weekend in program history.
Coming into the matchup with the Spartans, the Rebels are a No. 6 seed and carry a record of 24-11, picking up nice wins against North Carolina and Iowa State to get to this point.
With Friday's matchup on the horizon, it is time for Spartan fans to get up close and personal with Ole Miss. Here, we are going to break down five key trends in the scouting report that will make or break this Sweet 16 game:
Turnovers
When looking at the Rebels from a numbers standpoint, two really good things jump off the page. Ole Miss does a phenomenal job taking care of the ball, ranking No. 4 in the country in turnover rate, not allowing their opposition to gain extra possessions.
Conversely, Ole Miss does a very good job at turning their opponents over. The Rebels rank at No. 34 for opposition turnover rate, doing a great hob at getting themselves extra possessions.
Rebounding
While we touched on a good for the Rebels, here is a bad, and something the Spartans can take advantage of. Ole Miss ranks 314th in offensive rebounding percentage and 204th in defensive rebounding percentage, showing that they are not a good rebounding team at either end of the court.
Michigan State will have the ability to take advantage of this, playing to a strength of the Spartans.
Fouls
First a good, then a bad and now a neutral. When assessing how well Ole Miss does with fouls, they are pretty neutral in both categories, although slightly on the good side. The Rebels rank at 95th in the country at drawing fouls, while ranking 261st at fouls per game.
So, the Rebels are above average in both categories, but it is not something that they are necessarily great at. It will be something Michigan State is able to potentially exploit in this matchup, as the Spartans rank No. 15 nationally in drawing fouls.
Battle tested
Exactly like MSU, Ole Miss has played 18 quad 1 games this season, and have the No. 6 adjusted strength of schedule in the nation. All of that adds up to a team who is as battle tested as they come.
Ole Miss will not be afraid of the big stage, and will need to be a team that is eager to go up against a team like Michigan State.
Chris Beard
It is no secret who is on the other sideline, and Tom Izzo knows how good Chris Beard coached teams can be. Beard runs a rugged style, and a style that has had a ton of success in March. The Spartans head man is going to meet a near equal in the coaching department, and an experienced guy who knows what it takes to win a game like this.
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State basketball's matchup with Ole Miss broken down
Continue reading...
