The Michigan State basketball team got their NCAA Tournament run started with a bang on Thursday as they kicked off March Madness with an easy win over Mississippi State basketball. The Spartans were the nine seed and the Bulldogs were the eight seed, but Michigan State blew out Mississippi State with no problem. January, February, Izzo, right?
Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo always gets his team ready for March, and that was on full display on Thursday afternoon. If you watched the Spartans during the regular season, you wouldn't have been that impressed, but they looked very good against Mississippi State.
The Spartans got out to a hot start as they immediately led 20-8 and they never looked back. Mississippi State did a good job of staying in the game for awhile, but Michigan State was simply too good. They hit big shots when they needed to, and they never trailed in their first round win.
Tom Izzo improved to 20-4 in the round of 64 in his career after the win. Even in a year where the Spartans have been an overall disappointment, it looks like he has yet again gotten his team ready to play at the highest level for March Madness. Michigan State is a nine seed, but on Thursday, they looked much higher than that.
Michigan State went 19-13 overall in the regular season and 10-10 in a pretty disappointing Big Ten this year. The Spartans really didn't look all that impressive in the regular season, and it was a big disappointment after starting the season ranked #4 in the country. This was supposed to be a very good Spartans squad, but they never looked that good in the regular season. On Thursday, Michigan State looked like the team that they were expected to be.
It was just one game, but that was a great sign for Michigan State basketball fans. Now, the question is how far can the Spartans go. They will play the best team in their region on Saturday as North Carolina is going to beat Wagner (this is being published before the game ends, so if they lose, that's on me Tar Heels fans). If the Spartans knock off North Carolina, the region is wide open.
Can Michigan State knock off #1 seed North Carolina
North Carolina is a better than Mississippi State, there's no question about it. However, if Michigan State basketball plays like they did on Thursday, they can compete with the best teams in the tournament. The Tar Heels should be feeling a little bit nervous for their round of 32 game against the Spartans.
Michigan State ended up beating Mississippi State 69-51 because they made tough shots all game long. The Spartans take a lot of mid-range shots compared to other teams, and when they go into shooting slumps, it's hard for them to win as those are some of the more difficult shots in basketball. However, on Thursday, the Spartans shot 50% from the field and 43.5% from three. If Michigan State is shooting that well, they should be able to hang around with North Carolina.
One thing is certain, North Carolina should not be overlooking the Spartans. This is not your average nine seed, and Michigan State should be able to make this a close game. This is an extremely tough draw for a one seed in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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