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Michigan State basketball started this year unranked, considered a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team, and many thought they would have to get lucky just to make the NCAA Tournament. Flash forward to Friday night, when No. 2 seeded MSU took down yet another feisty NCAA Tournament opponent in Ole Miss, and it's hard to remember a time when MSU wasn't thought of as one of the top teams in the country.
It definitely wasn't an easy win, as the Spartans only won by three points and trailed for much of the night, but once again, this team found a way to win.
Below, you can see our three key takeaways after an exciting night for the Spartans, who will now be dancing into the Elite 8.
In the second half of the Spartans' second tournament win over New Mexico, Coen Carr was moved into the starting lineup coming out of the halftime locker room. That doesn't look like a temporary move, as Coen Carr lined back up in the starting lineup on Friday night against Ole Miss.
After a night of playing dogged defense and scoring 15 points, it looks like the right move. This seemed inevitable all year, as Carr developed at an exponential rate until his spot in the starting lineup became practically undeniable.
Carr's rim-rattling dunk in the second half seemed to signal a shift in this one, as his dunks usually do, and the Spartans didn't look back. I would expect to see Carr starting the rest of the tournament. Props to Izzo and his staff for having the courage to make such a bold lineup move during March Madness.
After one uncharacteristically bad game against New Mexico, Jase Richardson is fully back. The Spartans' best offensive weapon dropped 20 points and also had six rebounds, second on the team, including a huge rebound in crunch-time that helped seal the win.
One of the biggest reasons that this MSU team has been so lethal this year is the emergence of Richardson, and they will need this version of Richardson moving forward if they want a chance to get Izzo his second title.
After a year where the motto was 'strength in numbers' and we routinely saw Michigan State using a 10-man lineup rotation, the Spartans only used eight players in the win against Ole Miss. The big absence was Szymon Zapala, who was starting for much of the year at center. While the move ultimately ended in a win, I would expect Izzo to go back to at least a nine man rotation in the next round, as the Spartans' ability to rotate their bigs has been a cheat code all year. I think Zapala didn't play tonight solely because of the lineup (Ole Miss' tallest player is 6-foot-9).
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Three takeaways from Michigan State's Sweet Sixteen win over Ole Miss
Continue reading...
It definitely wasn't an easy win, as the Spartans only won by three points and trailed for much of the night, but once again, this team found a way to win.
Below, you can see our three key takeaways after an exciting night for the Spartans, who will now be dancing into the Elite 8.
Coen Carr has earned his starting spot
In the second half of the Spartans' second tournament win over New Mexico, Coen Carr was moved into the starting lineup coming out of the halftime locker room. That doesn't look like a temporary move, as Coen Carr lined back up in the starting lineup on Friday night against Ole Miss.
After a night of playing dogged defense and scoring 15 points, it looks like the right move. This seemed inevitable all year, as Carr developed at an exponential rate until his spot in the starting lineup became practically undeniable.
Carr's rim-rattling dunk in the second half seemed to signal a shift in this one, as his dunks usually do, and the Spartans didn't look back. I would expect to see Carr starting the rest of the tournament. Props to Izzo and his staff for having the courage to make such a bold lineup move during March Madness.
Jase Richardson, welcome back
After one uncharacteristically bad game against New Mexico, Jase Richardson is fully back. The Spartans' best offensive weapon dropped 20 points and also had six rebounds, second on the team, including a huge rebound in crunch-time that helped seal the win.
One of the biggest reasons that this MSU team has been so lethal this year is the emergence of Richardson, and they will need this version of Richardson moving forward if they want a chance to get Izzo his second title.
MSU finally shortens their rotation, but I don't expect that to continue
After a year where the motto was 'strength in numbers' and we routinely saw Michigan State using a 10-man lineup rotation, the Spartans only used eight players in the win against Ole Miss. The big absence was Szymon Zapala, who was starting for much of the year at center. While the move ultimately ended in a win, I would expect Izzo to go back to at least a nine man rotation in the next round, as the Spartans' ability to rotate their bigs has been a cheat code all year. I think Zapala didn't play tonight solely because of the lineup (Ole Miss' tallest player is 6-foot-9).
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Three takeaways from Michigan State's Sweet Sixteen win over Ole Miss
Continue reading...
