NCAA Tournament 2023: Ranking the 8 matchups in the Sweet 16
By Joey Loose
5. 3 Kansas State vs. 7 Michigan State
This situation always seems to happen and we’re here again: Tom Izzo has his squad playing their best basketball in March. The Spartans have looked great at times this year, but slogged through Big Ten play much like the rest of the conference, including a really rough showing the Big Ten Tournament two weeks ago. However, Michigan State has gotten good defense in wins over 10-seed USC and a stunning upset over 2-seed Marquette, limiting that high-powered Golden Eagles offense to just 60 points to end their season. Can the Izzo magic continue?
Magic seems to be playing a role on the other side as well, as Jerome Tang has pressed all the right buttons in his first season at Kansas State. The Wildcats sprinted out to a hot start in his head coaching debut and their pair of All-Americans, Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell, have put this program back on the map this year. The Wildcats dispatched of 14-seed Montana State in the first round before surviving a tough one against 6-seed Kentucky on Sunday. Their play certainly hasn’t been perfect, but the interior offense is playing a high level right now.
Matching the wits of a first-year head coach and a Hall of Famer in Tom Izzo will be fascinating in this Sweet Sixteen game. While the Wildcats have those two elite weapons, the Spartans aren’t just going to lay down, getting a lot this year from Joey Hauser and the rest of this lineup. This is one of those games that could go either way, though perhaps we’re putting too much faith into Izzo? Kansas State has won these types of games all season long and would certainly do so if their long-range offense can finally wake up.