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.
Michigan State needs certain players to regain its ability to make three-pointers as it did for much of Big Ten conference play.
The Spartans are a good three-point shooting team for a good portion of the season. Michigan State for example made 239 three-pointers this season and had games this season where they were in the double digits in making threes. In their last regular season Big Ten conference game, they made 12 shots from beyond the arc on 20 attempts at home against Ohio State. On the road against Nebraska, they made 16 threes, at Iowa they made 11 of 15 three-point attempts, and at home against Indiana they made 10 three-point shots from beyond the arc. Two Spartans in particular, need to regain their form against Kansas State to help them advance to the Elite Eight.
Tyson Walker and Joey Hauser need to make at minimum take five three-point attempts against the Wildcats.
Michigan State to their credit had won their two NCAA Tournament games in large part due to their defense and their ability to control the flow of the game. The way the Spartans won their games against USC and Marquette, will be more difficult to duplicate against Kansas State. The Wildcats arguably played in the toughest and most competitive conference this season which is the Big 12.
They have impressive wins for example, in a road victory over Texas where they scored 116 points, and defeated Baylor in which they held them to only 65 points. They have three players who consistently can score in double digits in Keyontae Johnson, Markquis Nowell, and Nae’Qwan Tomlin.
They earned the No. 3 seed for a reason and deservedly so but they don’t have an outstanding defense or a dominant big man like Purdue which had given the Spartans problems on defense. Michigan State needs to spread out the Wildcat’s defense by making timely threes, and the Spartans have two players in Hauser and Walker who can make that happen.
Walker is not a high-volume three-point shooter, but he needs to shoot from beyond the arc more often than he has recently to help the Spartan’s offense thrive against a solid and stable Kansas State defense. Walker in multiple games has been a very effective three-point shooter. On the road against Nebraska, he made three of four attempts, versus Indiana he made five from seven from beyond the arc, and against Rutgers at home, he made three of his five attempts from beyond three-point land.
However, in his last four games, Walker is a combined two for thirteen from beyond the three-point arc. He needs to not pass up wide-open threes and he needs to regain his confidence in his ability to make threes again against Kansas State. Walker has proven that he is an elite three-point shooter and in his home state of New York, he should be able to make a decent amount of his three-point attempts.
Hauser in comparison, is not afraid to take a three-point shot and his making four of his six three-point attempts against USC helped the Spartans to a ten-point victory over the Trojans. However, against Marquette, he was limited to only three attempts and made only one of those attempts and in the Big Ten Tournament he was limited as well going one for three from beyond the arc against the Buckeyes as well.
Hauser needs to be able to shoot more threes as he did against Nebraska when he made six of his eleven three-point attempts and when he made six of nine on the road against Ohio State. Hauser like Walker needs to put up a minimum of five three-point attempts to open up the lane for their teammates like Hoggard and Akins for the Spartans to advance to the Elite Eight.
The Spartans need their big men to be a strength and not a weakness against the Wildcats.
No one is expecting Michigan State to feed the post and attack Kansas State’s interior defense with the Spartan’s centers and forwards on Thursday night. However, Michigan State needs its big men to be productive and solid on defense. They also need to be able to finish around the rim, especially if they receive a pass from any of the Michigan State guards who are able to penetrate the lane and dish to a wide-open Spartan underneath the basket for an easy two points.
Mady Sissoko, Jaxon Kohler, and Carson Cooper need to be solid on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball against Kansas State.
Michigan State’s strength is with its guards and its veteran wing players. However, all three of the above-mentioned players average less than six points a game as Sissoko averages just over five points a game, Kohler puts up three points a game, and Cooper averages just over a point and a half a game. Even on the defensive end, Sissoko averages a respectable 6.2 rebounds per game but even as the starting center for Michigan State, he is not the leading rebounder for the Spartans. Kohler averages just under three rebounds a game and Cooper averages just under one rebound per game.
They don’t need to put up a double-double on offense, they don’t need a plus-ten rebound and three-block performance either. They just need to not be a liability on either end of the floor and they need to make shots from six feet and within and they need to be able to box out who they are guarding and grab rebounds that are within their grasp.
Sissoko also doesn’t have to put up numbers as he did earlier in the season when he combined shot nine for fifteen for 30 points and 17 rebounds against Gonzaga and Kentucky. However, in 21 minutes against Marquette, he was perfect from the field and free throw line for 8 points to go along with 10 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. His production in the Spartans’ win against the Golden Eagles had a big impact on their advancing to the round of 16 and if he can be as productive against the Wildcats as he was against Marquette, Michigan State’s chances of winning increase significantly.
Cooper and Kohler, it seems take turns playing meaningful playing time this season. For example, Kohler only played one minute against Marquette and five minutes against USC but he played 15 minutes against Nebraska and 19 minutes against Indiana which helped the Spartans get the fourth seed and double bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Cooper played 16 minutes against Marquette and 13 minutes against USC but he only played a combined four minutes in two games against Ohio State late in the season.
Both players depending on the matchups against the Wildcats may be needed to help the Spartans win. Cooper had six points and four rebounds against USC and that helped more than you may think. Either way, one of them could provide valuable and much-needed minutes to guide Michigan State to victory over Kansas State.
Sissoko doesn’t have to be perfect defensively on defending on ball screens, Cooper doesn’t need to pull down eight rebounds and block three shots, and Kohler does need to get back to back baskets off of great post moves. They collectively just need to play their roles well and contribute in any way necessary that Izzo needs from them against Kansas State.