It's win-or-go-home time and Michigan State basketball is back in the spotlight after a five-year hiatus as Big Ten champs. The Spartans earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a Friday night matchup against Bryant closing out the first round.
The Spartans went 27-6 in the regular season and they're hoping to bring back some of the Tom Izzo magic from five years back. The Spartans were off back-to-back-to-back Big Ten titles and Cassius Winston was getting ready to make a deep run in March before COVID-19 canceled the tournament. Since then, it hasn't quite had the same feel for the Spartans.
This year feels like the good old days again.
But Izzo can't be overlooking an athletic team like Bryant that can fill it up from long-range. This one is going to be tight for a bit, but let's dive into some bold predictions.
1. Coen Carr has a highlight-reel field day
I think we're about to see one of the best games of Coen Carr's career on Friday night as he records at least three highlight-reel dunks and plays some lockdown defense against this athletic Bryant team, swatting three shots, including a huge dunk attempt.
Carr will finish with 13 points and six rebounds with three blocks and a steal, really providing a spark off the bench for the Spartans.
Remember what Izzo said about Carr's dunks? They're worth six points.
2. MSU out-rebounds Bryant by 10
Is this really that bold of a prediction for a team that is considered one of the best at rebounding in the country? Well, the Spartans may be good at rebounding, but Bryant is considered elite.
In fact, the Bulldogs are No. 7 in the country in rebounding, grabbing over 41 per game. That might give the Spartans some problems early, but when they settle in, I can see Jaxon Kohler grabbing 10-plus, Carr adding six, Carson Cooper flirting with 10 of his own, and all of the guards crashing the boards, too.
Michigan State will out-rebounding one of the nation's elite rebounding teams by double-digits.
3. Early scare before a late cover
Michigan State is going to find itself in a scary spot early with Bryant hitting its shots and really getting the Cleveland crowd to believe an upset is possible. They'll even have an 8-10-point lead in the first half, quieting the Michigan State faithful.
But then something will click after the under-12 timeout and Izzo's team will come out swinging again, relying on some huge dunks by Carr and crafty moves and scores by Jase Richardson to not only climb right back into it, but take a small lead at the half, 34-31.
From there, Michigan State won't look back, eventually winning and covering the 18.5-point spread.