Michigan State basketball: 5 bold predictions for Sweet 16 bout vs. LSU

Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions for Sweet 16 matchup vs. LSU

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 23: Cassius Winston #5, Foster Loyer #3, Xavier Tillman #23 and Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 21: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans goes up for a shot against the Bradley Braves during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

4. Xavier Tillman records double-double

Scoring in the post against LSU isn’t going to be easy, especially with a monster like Naz Reid patrolling the paint, but the Spartans will get solid production from Nick Ward and Xavier Tillman.

The aforementioned Ward will score 15 points, as stated on the previous page, but Tillman will have himself an even better game with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He’ll play his usual aggressive style on the glass and snag rebounds with one arm while sneaking through pick and slips for easy buckets from Cassius Winston feeds.

Tillman has gotten better at running the floor, too, which is why he’s been so heavily relied upon in recent games as he helps with the Spartans’ up-tempo style like Ward did before the injury.

Michigan State needs production from the post in this one and while Tillman is still working on his back-to-basket game, he will get most of his points from fast-breaks, alley-oops and aggressive layups after offensive rebounds.

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