Michigan State Basketball: 5 reasons Spartans will beat Hurricanes

Friday is a big day for Michigan State basketball and here’s why the Spartans will beat the Miami Hurricanes in Tulsa.

As the Selection Show wore on Sunday night, Michigan State basketball fans were growing worried about the idea of missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two decades. However, the Midwest Region’s announcement calmed their nerves.

The Spartans earned a surprising No. 9 seed in the Midwest, facing No. 8 Miami in the first round with a potential second-round matchup against Kansas. Michigan State fans rejoiced, but the Spartans, as a team, were just happy to finally get down to business.

This is Tom Izzo’s favorite time of the year and his freshman players are going to find that out soon enough. He loves the one-and-done tournament play and even though last year didn’t end quite how he would have liked, the Spartans seem to fare much better as underdogs.

How will they fare against the Hurricanes, though? Here’s why we believe Michigan State will win on Friday night.

5. Size not too much for Spartans

Although Miami does have three guys who stand at least 6-foot-10, but luckily for the Spartans, that trip plays minimally. In fact, Dewan Huell (6-foot-11 freshman forward) is the only one who plays more than 13 minutes per game. Rodney Miller plays just four and Ebuka Izundu averages 12.9 per contest.

Michigan State has played big teams before and the Hurricanes gear toward more of a smaller lineup and that’s music to the Spartans’ ears.

Against teams like Purdue, Kentucky, Baylor and Duke, the Spartans had a tough time matching up because of the size differential. While Miami has beaten teams like Duke, they haven’t quite faced a team like Michigan State which resembles the Hurricanes, in a way. A smaller team that’s used to playing undersized all year.

Could this be the perfect matchup for the Spartans? It’ll definitely be an even one.