MSU Spartans To Face UCLA In First Four Of NCAA Tournament

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Michigan State fans, breathe a sigh of relief.

This week marks the official 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the Spartans. However, in order to advance to the round of 64, they must first secure a victory in the First Four contest against UCLA.

On Selection Sunday, MSU was awarded the 11th seed in the East region.

Is another miracle run in March lurking in the Spartans’ future?

Sportsbooks see Michigan State as a longshot

It is understandable that the oddsmakers are showing a lot of favor towards Michigan State as the potential winners of this year’s March Madness.

The NCAA Tournament odds for the Spartans to win are +6600, while their opponent UCLA is listed at +3500. Surprisingly, BYU, the 6 seed team that will face the winner of MSU vs. UCLA, has odds of +8000.

DraftKings Sportsbook has designated MSU as a 1-point favorite over UCLA for Thursday’s contest. The over/under stands at 137.5 points.

Spartans exit Big Ten Tournament early

Despite finishing the regular season with impressive victories, Michigan State experienced a setback in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament against Maryland on Thursday.

In spite of taking a commanding 23-11 lead in the first half, the Spartans ultimately suffered a 68-57 defeat against the Terrapins. During the course of the game, MSU experienced a significant drought of more than eight minutes without scoring a single point. Additionally, their performance from beyond the arc was disappointing, as they only managed to convert 4 out of 16 attempts, all contributing to their loss. Furthermore, the Spartans committed 18 turnovers throughout the game.

In addition to other challenges, fouls proved to be problematic for MSU with a total of 23 team fouls, resulting in Maryland’s 28 free throw attempts. The officiating did not sit well with Tom Izzo, who expressed his dissatisfaction by drawing a technical foul, ultimately contributing to Maryland’s significant scoring surge.

MSU vs. UCLA hard to predict

The recent defeat of Michigan State is a prime illustration of their baffling performance displayed in the final month.

At one stage of the season, with a record of 10-9, MSU appeared to be at risk of not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, which would have been their first time missing it since 1997.

Nevertheless, despite a record of 15-12, MSU managed to make a remarkable comeback and secured significant victories against highly ranked teams such as Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan, all of whom were positioned in the top 5.

Throughout that period, MSU experienced a few unimpressive performances, such as a 73-55 defeat against Maryland and a 69-50 loss against Michigan, during which they were unable to successfully make any 3-point shots.

MSU’s major concern this season has been their inadequate offense. The team currently holds a disappointing 230th position in offense, with an average of 69.5 points per game. Their shooting performance has been equally underwhelming, as they rank nearly the same in both overall shooting (42.5%) and 3-point shooting (32.2%).

MSU’s star players further contribute to the unpredictability of their play.

Although Aaron Henry consistently leads the team with an average of 15.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, the rest of his teammates tend to have inconsistent performances.

Joey Hauser, the transfer player, has shown moments of confusion and struggled to find his footing. In the recent defeat against Maryland, he only managed to score four points.

In the victory against Michigan, Rocket Watts had a remarkable performance, scoring 21 points. However, in the game against the Terps, he struggled to find his rhythm and could only manage three points in 31 minutes of play. Unfortunately, in 10 out of his last 12 games, he has been limited to six points or fewer.

This season, Senior Joshua Langford has struggled to find his shot consistently, with a shooting percentage of just 36% from the field and 33% from the arc.

UCLA backing into NCAA Tournament

With a season record of 17-9, UCLA secured the fourth position in the Pac-12 Conference with a conference record of 13-6.

Despite losing their last four games of the season, the Bruins are entering this First Four game with a determined spirit, as all of their losses were by single-digit margins.

UCLA demonstrates a more formidable offense compared to MSU, with an impressive average of 72.6 points per game, coupled with a shooting accuracy of 46.3% from the field and 37.3% from the arc.

Earlier this year, the team suffered a setback when guard Chris Smith was sidelined due to a knee injury. Smith had been contributing an average of 12.6 points per game. However, despite this setback, the Bruins manage to maintain a strong offensive lineup with five players consistently scoring in double digits.

Johnny Juzang sets the pace with an average of 14 points per game. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, Jules Bernard, and Cody Riley also maintain a double-figure scoring average.

On December 19, the Bruins encountered one Big Ten team, experiencing a 77-70 defeat against Ohio State.

UCLA faces the challenge of traveling to Indianapolis, whereas MSU has already settled in since last week. Given the Big Ten Tournament taking place in Indianapolis, the Spartans are familiar with their surroundings and can now concentrate solely on preparing for the Bruins.

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