The Big Ten started the NCAA Tournament tied for the most conference bids with eight teams. After the first weekend, they’re down to just one team in Michigan State Basketball. The Spartans got to the Sweet 16 by beating USC and pulling off the upset against Marquette.
Michigan State now takes on Kansas State, one of the biggest team surprises in this entire season. Here are some keys for the Spartans to prevail and stay alive in the Big Dance.
A.J. Hoggard, Jaden Akins, and Malik Hall must drive with the ball and attack the basket and not settle for long-range two-pointers.
Michigan State proved in their first two games that they don’t need to make an abundance of three-pointers to win games in the NCAA Tournament this year. Combined in their two games in the tournament against USC and Marquette, the Spartans made only seven out of thirty attempts from beyond the arc for only a 23% shooting percentage. During the season, Michigan State had the 8th-best three-point shooting percentage in division one basketball. However, in their two wins against the Trojans and the Golden Eagles, attacking the basket was a valuable option for the Spartan’s offense and helped them overcome their underwhelming three-point shooting.
Akins, Hoggard, and Hall combined for only two for sixteen shooting from beyond the arc and the Spartans were still able to beat USC by 10 and defeat No. 2 seed Marquette by nine. Hoggard attacking the basket and making layups, passing to a wide-open teammate in the corner for a three, or making a short-range jump stop has helped the Spartans be successful in the tournament this year. Hoggard was four for nine from inside the arc with five assists against the Trojans and four for eight from the two-point range with four assists against the Golden Eagles. However, Akins and Hall must have a similar mindset as Hoggard to help the Spartans defeat Kansas State.
Akins was four for seven from inside the arch against USC and had an impressive dunk against the Trojans to give the Spartans a seven-point lead in the first half for example. In comparison, Hall is not a guard like Hoggard and Akins but this season he plays his best when he is going to the block and using his, size, height, and strength in the post and the lane to produce offensively. Hall was a combined zero for five from beyond the arc in the two NCAA Tournament games but in each game, he made a critical two-point basket when he aggressively went into the lane and didn’t settle for a three-point attempt.
If these three players are aggressive on the offensive end and attack the basket they can either get a much-needed basket, find an open teammate for a three, get fouled, and even possibly get an and-one. Akins has the strength and speed to start from the wing and put down a powerful dunk, Hoggard has great ball-handling skills and can maneuver his way to the basket for a layup or find a teammate in the corner for a wide-open three, and Hall has such a high basketball IQ, he can start off with the ball from beyond the three-point arc, dribble the ball to the post and post up whoever is guarding him and make a hook shot or a short-range jumper.