Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans On SI

The No. 1 seed Michigan State Spartans (27-5, 17-3) earned a 74-64 victory over the No. 8 seed Oregon Ducks (24-9, 12-8) in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal round on Friday afternoon, largely thanks to a sensational shooting performance from the entire squad.

The Spartans shot an impressive 46.3% from the field, with one of their better shooting days from 3-point range, finishing 7-15 (46.7%) from downtown. For a team that has struggled all season to shoot the three, you would not have known it from watching this contest.

Michigan State sophomore forward Coen Carr finished 3-5 from the field with another marquee performance off the bench, while redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was 3-7 (47%) for 11 points. The Ducks failed to keep pace with the Spartans and their sharp shooting for all 40 minutes.

The combination of senior guard Jaden Akins and true freshman Jase Richardson gave the Spartans 29 total points on 9-26 (35%) from the field. Despite taking double-digit shots each, they made more than enough to cruise to a 10-point win over a defensively talented Ducks team.

If the Spartans want to make a deep run in both the conference and NCAA tournaments, a shooting performance like this will be required to raise a banner. Defense, rebounding and limiting turnovers are huge keys for the Spartans’ success, but making buckets is the one make-or-break aspect for this team.

The teams that separate themselves to become national champions are the ones that score the basketball consistently. The Spartans have been somewhat shaky in that aspect this year but are peaking at the ideal time.

Michigan State will battle the No. 5 seed Wisconsin Badgers in the semifinal round of the conference tournament on Saturday. The Badgers hit a program-tying record 19 3-pointers in their win over UCLA on Friday, and the Spartans will be required to keep pace with a hot-shooting Wisconsin team.

The winner of Saturday’s semifinal will move on to the Big Ten championship game. Tip-off for Friday’s contest is set for 1 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Broadcast coverage will be presented by CBS.

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