Michigan State is gearing up for the start of its latest NCAA Tournament run. The Spartans earned the 3-seed in the East Region on Sunday and will be taking on North Dakota State on Thursday evening with the winner playing the winner of South Florida vs. Louisville.
Tom Izzo spoke about the confidence that he has in his team before they boarded a plane and headed to Buffalo for practice on Wednesday. He’s excited for another March run.
North Dakota State won’t be a layup, however. It should be a win for the Spartans, but the Bison were the best team in the Summit League this season. They are lightly tested, though.
Let’s get bold ahead of Thursday’s first-round battle.
1. Two Spartans reach 15 (not points)
This may sound like I’m making the not-so-bold prediction of two Michigan State players scoring 15-plus points, but that’s not it. I’m predicting that two different Spartans will put up 15 in a category other than points.
I’m going with Jeremy Fears Jr. dishing 15 assists and Jaxon Kohler grabbing 15 rebounds. Both guys have reached those marks this season but they know they’ll need to be on their game if Michigan State is going to make it out of the weekend.
I see two elite performances from Fears and Kohler against NDSU.
2. Five different Spartans hit at least two 3s
This may be my boldest prediction in a while.
Michigan State has had its fair share of struggles from 3-point range this season, but it’s improved throughout the year. The Spartans are going to get hot after getting buried by the three against UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament. I see five different Spartans hitting at least two threes, and I’ll even predict who they are.
I’ve got Fears, Kur Teng, Jordan Scott, Jaxon Kohler, and we’ll even get a Trey Fort 3-point barrage on Thursday evening.
3. Michigan State trails for most of the first half, then covers
Peanut butter and jelly. Salt and pepper. Batman and Robin. Michigan State and slow starts.
All of those things just go together perfectly and you probably couldn’t imagine one without the other. Unfortunately, that’s all too true for Spartan fans. Michigan State has gotten off to slow starts in just about every game for over a month now and it’s led to a 6-4 finish to the regular season.
I think we’ll see some first-game jitters from the Spartans on Thursday, but they’ll quickly snap out of it and piece together a strong second half after trailing at halftime.
Michigan State wins this one, 81-60.