- Michigan State faces New Mexico on Sunday night with a Sweet 16 berth on the line in Cleveland.
- New Mexico averages the third-most fastbreak points in the nation, while Michigan State averages the fourth-most.
CLEVELAND — When Tom Izzo wanted and needed more toughness from his players Friday night, Michigan State basketball pumped the ball into the paint. When the Spartans began to impose their will on Bryant, they started running in transition.
It’s a rare combination of size to beat teams in the halfcourt from the inside and guards to run them out of the gym on the break. That flexibility and adaptability has been a staple all season for seventh-ranked MSU.
And for the Spartans to keep their resurgent season alive and advance as the No. 2 seed in the South region, they will need to take Izzo’s “defend, rebound and run” strategy to the hilt Sunday night against No. 10 seed New Mexico.
Because even though the Lobos lack the same depth, they maintain a similar mindset.
“It’s been a very unique thing the way we can play so fast, but also so physical the same time,” junior Jaxon Kohler said Saturday. “It’s very hard to have both in one team, because most of the time, you’re trying to be physical in the halfcourt, and that takes a lot of energy out of you. Or you’re trying to play fast, and that takes an energy out of you, too.
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA men’s tournament bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.
“But the fact that we can do both just kind of shows how special this team is. And we’re gonna need both of those factors (Sunday), playing physical and being able to run.”
Tipoff will be around 8:40 p.m. (TNT) at Rocket Arena. The victor advances to Friday’s Sweet 16 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, where it will face the winner of Sunday afternoon’s game in Milwaukee between 3-seed Iowa State and 6-seed Mississippi.
While MSU (28-6) will have a depth and size advantage over the Lobos (27-7), controlling pace of play will be one of the biggest keys to whichever team moves on. New Mexico, with honorable mention All-American point guard Donovan Dent, ranks third in the country at 16.21 fastbreak points per game. The Spartans — with four guards who can push the tempo in Jeremy Fears Jr., Tre Holloman, Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins — are fourth at 16.12.
“I’ve always said that I’m not as big on imposing my will on somebody else. I want to be able to adjust and adapt to just about anything,” Izzo said Saturday. “I think we’ve done that. Some of it’s with the personnel we have, and some of it’s with the philosophy we have —that we’re not going to try to overwhelm you with anything, we’re just going to try to take what you give us.”
But it’s also the way MSU’s main bigs — Kohler, Coen Carr and Carson Cooper — can run the floor as well as operate in the low post that Lobos coach Richard Pitino said makes playing these Spartans unique.
“I think for the casual observer, you would think they’re a slow, plodding physical team. There’s kind of that traditional belief of how the Big Ten is played. They do not play like that,” said Pitino, who went 3-9 against Izzo during his eight seasons at Minnesota (2013-21). “Now, they’ll grind you out if they need to. But they’re trying to score early, and their guards push and their wings run and their bigs rim-run.
“Yeah, he gets them to fly up the court. It’s been that way for a long time.”
Dent has been the guiding force for New Mexico. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior averages 20.6 points and 6.4 assists a game and was the Mountain West player of the year. He led the Lobos with 21 points on 7-for-17 shooting and six assists in their 75-66 upset of 7-seed Marquette, but Dent also committed eight turnovers Friday and has 17 in his past three games while giving it away 3.1 a game for the season.
“The hard part with Dent is they get outlets at halfcourt. I mean, the outlets they get are off the charts,” Izzo said of Dent. “And he gets the ball not only deep, but he’s running with it. So we’re going to have to form a wall and kind of corral him and make sure he doesn’t split people. But he’s very good at it.
“He doesn’t shoot it great. And yet, last five games, he’s shooting like 60 some percent, but he doesn’t take a lot of them. And he has turned it over a lot, I think he’s trying to do a lot of things. Hopefully, we can contain would be the best word I could give.”
As will be containing Lobos big Nelly Junior Joseph, who had 19 points and seven rebounds against Marquette. The 6-10, 240-pound senior averages 14.1 points and 11.1 rebounds for the season, but New Mexico only goes about six or seven deep in its rotation.
Which gives Izzo an opportunity to tinker with the right combination to do what the Spartans did in their 87-62 win over 15-seed Bryant – wear them down with their varying styles of play.
“We’ve been able to adjust. We’ve been a little more versatile,” Izzo said. “We can play big. We can play small. I think it’s helped us.”
Chris Solari’s prediction for Michigan State basketball vs. New Mexico
The Spartans learn from Friday’s sluggish start and come out strong, working in transition with Fears and Holloman to get the Lobos fatigued before again using their depth to pull away to Izzo’s 16th Sweet 16 appearance. The pick: MSU 79, New Mexico 69.
Contact Chris Solari:[email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
