Michigan State basketball is three wins away from a national title, the first for Tom Izzo and the Spartans since 2000. It will take a near-perfect effort against Auburn to get that done.
Let's shock the world.
We already know Michigan State's advantages over the No. 1 overall seed, but what about its major disadvantages?
1. Half-court offense
Auburn averages over 80 points per game and less than 10 of that comes from fast-break points. So what does that mean? It means that this team has some really good creators and scorers and it is electric in the half-court game.
Scoring over 80 points per game and having just an eighth of that coming via fastbreak just shows that Auburn is confident that it can beat teams just by running plays and getting guys open.
The half-court offense for MSU is not nearly as effective.
2. Three-point shooting
Unfortunately, Michigan State has been the worse 3-point shooting team in almost every single matchup this season. The Spartans are in that same boat once again.
Auburn isn't the best 3-point shooting team in the country, but the Tigers rank 56th in 3-point shooting percentage while Michigan State is down in the 300s as one of the worst in college basketball. This disadvantage is nothing new, but Michigan State has to keep getting out and defending that line at an elite clip.
3. Turnovers
Not only does Auburn force more turnovers, but the Tigers also commit fewer than the Spartans.
Auburn ranks 10th in the country in turnovers per game while Michigan State is 150th and the Tigers are 149th in opponent turnovers while the Spartans are 224th.
If Michigan State doesn't take care of the ball, this could get ugly. The Tigers don't force a ton of turnovers, but it's just enough to make a difference and create some problems for opponents.