Michigan State vs. Notre Dame: Who wins the position battles?

Small forward: Rex Pflueger vs. Miles Bridges

Miles Bridges was unable to showcase his talents on the big stage of PK80 after injuring his ankle before going to Vegas. He didn’t play in the first quarterfinals game, was only in for a few minutes in the semis, and clearly was limited in the finals.

With a few days to recover, hopefully, he’ll be closer to 100%. Even with all that said, the Big Ten Player of the Year front-runner is still averaging 15.2 ppg and 6.8 rpg. He has the size of a forward and the mentality of a guard, and when healthy there are few guys that can stop him.

To start out the game it’ll be Rex Pflueger who’ll be matched up with Bridges. After being a reserve a year ago, there were hopes that he could fill in for departed shooter Steve Vasturia. It hasn’t worked out so far, with the junior averaging 6.2 ppg on just 30% shooting from the field, and even worse 23% from three-point range.

He’s contributed in other ways for the team, pulling down 5.0 rpg, second best on the team. His 6’6 frame has also allowed him to be a solid defender on the wings, something he’ll desperately need to take on Bridges.

If the Pflueger was shooting better and Bridges still recovering from ankle issues, I might have tried to make a case that this wasn’t a huge advantage for the Spartans. In reality, there’s no question who has the edge in this one.

Edge: Bridges