Michigan State basketball is back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019 and Tom Izzo and Co. are looking to get back to the Final Four (it'd be Izzo's ninth) and potentially win his second title.
The Spartans will have to get through Auburn, however, and that's not going to be easy as the Tigers are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They'll need to play their best game if they're going to get past Bruce Pearl and the Tigers.
Auburn is 31-5 on the season and it has one of the top offenses in the country as well as great bench play and fairly even scoring from its top five scorers.
Johni Broome is also going to present a problem for the Spartans.
Michigan State can get the job done, but will it? Time to get bold.
1. MSU out-rebounds Auburn by 10-plus
Michigan State is one of the top rebounding teams in college basketball and Auburn isn't too bad, either. The Tigers average just over 37 per game and Michigan State is just shy of 40, but the experts would tell you that this one will be a toss-up.
I don't think it'll be that close.
Izzo knows that if Michigan State is going to pull off the "upset", it'll need to rebound at a high rate. I can see the Spartans coming out much more motivated to crash the boards because that's how they're going to make up some ground in this matchup. Plus, I just don't see another two-rebound effort from Jaxon Kohler in this one.
2. MSU hits 10 threes
Three-point shooting has been the Achilles heel for this team all season but it's seen a slight uptick in recent weeks. Unfortunately, that came to a grinding halt on Friday night as the Spartans went just 6-for-17 from deep but that's still above their season average. They did hit five threes in the first half to climb back into the game so there's reason to believe improvement is in progress.
Against one of the best 3-point defenses in the country, Michigan State will make 10 threes.
Jase Richardson will stay hot, Jaden Akins will hit three, Tre Holloman will show signs of life again, and we'll even see one from Xavier Booker drop. Ten threes from MSU could be the winning recipe.
3. Final Four bound thanks to Akins heroics
For the ninth time under Izzo and the first time since 2019, Michigan State will make it back to the Final Four thanks to some heroics from Akins down the stretch.
With the game tied at 71 late, Akins will hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Spartans a lead and they'll never look back. Those will be in the "One Shining Moment" video and it will be the perfect way for Akins to leave his mark on the program that he poured his blood, sweat, and tears into.
Michigan State will win a tight on, 79-76, and Akins will be cutting down the nets with his teammates as the South Region champs.