Michigan State Basketball: Middle Tennessee State March Madness Preview
By Austin Smith
We take a look at the Michigan State Spartans first 2016 NCAA Tournament opponent, Middle Tennessee State, as March Madness gets underway.
Despite entering the tournament as a 2-seed, the Michigan State Spartans are being picked by many pundits to cut down the nets at the Final Four in Houston. If you’ve watched them play anytime since late January, it’s tough to argue.
They share the ball better than any team in the country, shoot the lights out and in typical MSU fashion dominate the glass on both ends of the floor. Above all of that, they are led by National Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine and legendary coach Tom Izzo. Expectations are sky high, and rightfully so.
The first leg of what they hope will be another deep NCAA Tournament run begins Friday, when MSU takes on 15-seed Middle Tennessee State. Here’s the rundown…
How MTSU got here:
Won Conference USA Tournament (defeated Charlotte, Marshall and Old Dominion)
Player to know: G Giddy Potts
Bryn Forbes may be the most well known shooter taking the floor in this matchup, but if you can believe it, he is not statistically the best. That honor belongs to Potts, a 6’2” guard who led his team in scoring at 15 points per contest.
The Sophomore shot a crazy 50.3% from long range this year, edging out Forbes by a mere 1.9%. He will need to come up with his best performance of the year if the Blue Raiders want to pull off a monumental upset.
What to watch for:
MTSU sports some surprising depth with four players (including Potts) averaging over 10 PPG. 6’7″ junior Reggie Upshaw provides the most muscle of all the frontcourt players, averaging 8.7 rebounds per game, but the Blue Raiders have some more size in 6’6″ combo guard/forward Perrin Buford and 6’8″ forward Darnell Harris. Defensively, that length could give MSU some trouble.
Statistically, there’s nothing overwhelmingly positive to report. They don’t outscore (+4.4 PPG), out-rebound (+2.2 RPG) or out-assist (+1.4 APG) their opponents by a significant margin.
What does jump out is their dreadful percentage from the free throw line, where they shoot only 61.7%. In a game where they’ll need every point they can get, that is not ideal.
Barring an insane shooting night from Potts and an some uncharacteristic work on the boards, MTSU is looking a lot more like a pumpkin than Cinderella.
Prediction:
MSU has major advantages in every facet of this matchup, but ultimately it will be the rebounding advantage that wins the day for Sparty. Yes, MTSU has size, but they don’t have anyone that can keep big fellas like Matt Costello and Deyonta Davis from cleaning the glass.
Next: Best Bracket Picks from Each Seed Line
Valentine puts up another excellent game before he and the rest of the starters head to the bench for most of the second half. Izzo’s crew rolls and turns its attention to the winner of Dayton-Syracuse.
MSU 90, MTSU 71