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Michigan State Basketball: How the Spartans reached the Final Four

By Brian Rauf

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with his teammates after a basket against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with his teammates after a basket against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Gabe Brown #13 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against Marlon Taylor #14 of the LSU Tigers during the second half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Gabe Brown #13 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against Marlon Taylor #14 of the LSU Tigers during the second half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

NCAA Tournament results for Michigan State (game by game)

Bradley

Bradley gave Michigan State a tougher test than just about what anyone could imagine. The No. 15 seed used stingy defense to maintain a lead over the Spartans for much of the game and were within a single possession until a 9-0 Michigan State run in the final four minutes of the game finally put some distance between them and the Braves.

Minnesota

Say what you will about two conference foes meeting in the season round of the NCAA Tournament, but the Gophers didn’t stand a chance. Michigan State came out red-hot and build a 20-point lead in the first half and never looked back.

LSU

Following the same formula as the game before, Michigan State got off to a hot start and quickly built a double-digit lead over the Tigers. They then beat them at their own game, dominating the rebounding battle (34-20) to keep LSU at bay. Henry and Gabe Brown, both freshmen, came up huge for the Spartans with 20 and 15 points, respectively, both of which were career highs.

Duke

What a game this was. The two sides went back and forth with one answering everything the other threw at them, most notably Duke’s 12-0 run in the first half being followed by a 13-0 run from Michigan State. The entire second half was played within a 10-point window and wasn’t decided until Kenny Goins and Winston made two of the most clutch plays of the tournament.

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