NCAA Tournament 2023: Top 10 most likely 2nd round upsets to happen

8. 7 Michigan State over 2 Marquette

Tom Izzo has had some magical runs in the month of March throughout his long career at Michigan State; could this be one of those years for the Spartans? It seems like the program makes a Final Four every four to five years and we’re nearing the time when you can expect that to happen again. After a strong 17-point, 8-rebound effort from Joey Hauser, could Michigan State be in line to pull off the upset in this second round over a talented Golden Eagles squad?

First and foremost, Michigan State has been playing much better on the offensive side of the ball the last month or so of the season, and they’ll need it against the best offensive team in the nation. A run of hot 3-point shooting ended the regular season for the Spartans, who made just 36% of those shots in their win against USC on Friday. Jaden Akins, AJ Hoggard, and Tyson Walker will be ever-important for the Spartans; this backcourt needs to be able to make tough shots to keep up with Marquette’s strength.

When all is said and done, this Marquette team is certainly more talented than Michigan State, but that doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily get the job done. Not only can the Spartans hit 3-pointers at a high rate, but they’ve been a better defensive team much of this season. If the Spartans take care of the basketball, that gives them an even better shot against a Golden Eagles squad highly capable of causing turnovers. If the Spartans pull this off, you’ll have seen another impressive performance from Hauser, with plenty of help from the backcourt.