Michigan State basketball: 3 reasons Spartans will beat Villanova

1. Villanova won’t be able to keep up with the Spartans’ tempo

Villanova isn’t exactly a high-octane team. The Wildcats average just 68 points per game which is 278th in the country and they average only 30 rebounds per game so don’t expect a ton of second-chance points like what we saw from Gonzaga and Kentucky.

The Wildcats don’t score a ton of points and we saw that against Delaware State when they only mustered 60 which is honestly somewhat embarrassing.

Michigan State, on the other hand, likes to get out and run. The Wildcats may try to slow the tempo down, but the Spartans are going to control it with that solid defense and rebounding, getting out in the fast break early and often. Controlling the tempo is important if the Spartans want to pull this one off and I think they will.

If Michigan State scores around its average of 74 points, I don’t think there’s a chance the Wildcats can keep up unless they have their best offensive game of the season by a mile.

Michigan State’s defense is too good to allow that and the offense can be scary when it’s clicking. Villanova won’t keep up.