One of the biggest strengths of the Michigan State basketball team this season has been its depth. It has aided in a number of second-half comebacks as the Spartans had fresher legs than their opponents in the closing minutes of games.
Friday night, coach Tom Izzo didn’t need to rely on his team’s depth as much, but the result was still the same.
After trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half, and being down nine with 12 minutes to play, the Spartans used their adjusted lineup to claw back into the game and move onto the Elite Eight with a 73-70 win over a tough Ole Miss team.
The lineup adjustment was evident from the very beginning, as high-flying sophomore Coen Carr got the start just miles from his hometown in the Atlanta suburbs. Senior grad-transfer Szymon Zapala, who had started all 35 previous games, did not see any playing time on the night.
Michigan State has 10 players who average 10 or more minutes per game on the season, but only used eight players on the night. Carr and freshman phenom Jase Richardson led the Spartans with 32 minutes each, while senior Jaden Akins wasn’t far behind with 31.
Instead of using his team’s size advantage, Izzo opted to change his lineup and rotations based on how Ole Miss likes to play. Carr, who is 6-foot-5, was moved into a frontcourt role, being paired with Carson Cooper or Jaxon Kohler most of the night. The Rebels’ defensive pressure on the perimeter forced MSU into some late shot clock attempts, and early shooting woes made Ole Miss more comfortable leaving someone open to double team on the rare occasion Michigan State was able to get the ball into the post.
While the end result is all that really matters, the change in lineup led to the Rebels out-rebounding the Spartans 33-29. Michigan State, which is the second-best rebounding team in the Big Ten, was outrebounded by an Ole Miss team that was the second-worst rebounding team in the SEC. This will almost certainly be a point of emphasis for Izzo and staff to address before Sunday.
Last night, Auburn outrebounded Michigan 48-33. For reference, Michigan State outrebounded the Wolverines by nine in both of their meetings this season. The biggest test for the Spartans' front court will be how to defend 6-foot-10 senior Johni Broome, who was the SEC Player of the Year this season. He posted 22 points and 16 points Friday night primarily matched up with Michigan’s Vlad Goldin.
Even though Zapala sat on the bench all of Friday, expect him to be back in action vs Auburn’s bigger starting lineup. Ole Miss started one player over 6-foot-6, while Auburn will have three. Despite Zapala starting all season up to last night, mostly alongside Kohler, Cooper, has averaged more minutes on the season.
With the season on the line, and another trip to the Final Four up for grabs, Izzo may need to make some further adjustments against the SEC champions and No. 1 overall seed Tigers.