The stage is now set for Michigan State to take the court for its 27th consecutive NCAA tournament. The Spartans earned the No. 2 seed in the South region and will face the No. 15-seeded Bryant Bulldogs.

The two are set to play Friday, March 21 at 10:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The matchup will be televised on TBS.

Bryant comes into the NCAA tournament at 23-11 (14-2) and won both the regular season and tournament championship in the America East Conference. The Bulldogs are coached by Phil Martelli Jr., son of Phil Martelli (long time St. Johns head coach and former assistant at Michigan from 2019-2024, serving as interim and acting head coach at times in 2022 and 2023).

The Bulldogs are led by America East Player of the Year Earl Timberlake who averaged 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. He is a big-bodied guard, who wants to get downhill and use his size to take advantage of mismatches. In addition to Timberlake, Bryant's leading scorer (3rd in America East) is Rafael Pinson, who averages 18.5 points and is shooting 38.5% from behind the arc. This backcourt duo has been a problem for opposing defenses all season long and with both being seniors, they won't be intimidated by the stage or MSU.

Bryant will likely only go seven deep, and it has four players who average over 32 minutes per game. Back in December, when the Bulldogs faced off against St. Johns, they were able to stay in the game for the first 30 minutes until the Red Storm started to wear them down and came away with a 99-77 victory.

This won't be a gimmie for the Spartans, and they will have to play focused, disciplined basketball in order to advance to the Round of 32. Let's take a deeper look at this matchup and what factors will play an important role in the outcome.

1 - Jeremy Fears Jr. (6’2” RS Fr.)

2 - Jase Richardson (6'3" Fr.), Tre Holloman (6’2” Jr.), Kur Teng (6'4" Fr.)

3 - Jaden Akins (6’4” Sr.), Frankie Fidler (6’7” Sr.), Gehrig Normand (6'5" RS Fr.)

4 - Jaxon Kohler (6’9” Jr.), Coen Carr (6’5” So.), Xavier Booker (6'11" So.)

5 - Szymon Zapala (7'0" Sr.), Carson Cooper (6’11” So.), Jesse McCulloch (6''10" Fr., expected to redshirt)

1- Rafael Pinson (6'6" Sr.)

2- Earl Timberlake (6' 6" Sr.), Kam Farris (6'3" Sr.)

3- Connor Withers (6'8" Sr.), Jakai Robinson (6'5", Jr.)

4- Barry Evans (6'8" Jr.), Kvonn Cramer (6'7" Sr.)

5 - Keyshawn Mitchel (6'11" So.)

The first thing that comes to mind when looking at Bryant is that they are BIG. The Bulldogs don't start a player under 6-foor-6 and their first two subs off the bench are 6-foot-5 (Jakai Robinson) and 6-foot-7 (Kvonn Cramer). The Bryant wings often look to get downhill and use their size to get to the rim.

In addition to this, the Bulldogs have been a very solid rebounding team all season long. According to Bart Torvik, they are ranked 54th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage. Thankfully for the Spartans, this isn't a weakness as MSU is eighth in the country in defensive rebounding percentage according to Torvik. While the Spartans should be able to mitigate this strength of the Bulldogs, it will be important for their smaller guards to box out on the defensive side of the ball against the bigger Bryant guards.

Offensively, Bryant isn't going to win any awards (190th in adjusted offense). The team doesn't shoot many threes and often times settles for a lot of long twos. However, in games versus St. Johns (in December) and Maine (AAC Championship), the Bulldogs made it a point of emphasis to get to the hoop and crash the glass. Versus St. Johns, the Bulldogs were still able to get 17 second chance points off of 10 offensive rebounds. It will be interesting to see how MSU's guards match up to the tall, athletic backcourt.

As far as areas that Michigan State might look to exploit, Bryant likes to play at a very fast pace (seventh fastest in the country to be exact). Now while this often works to Bryant's advantage, it is also susceptible to turn the ball over. In their games versus Maine and St, Johns, both opponents were able to create opportunities in transition against the Bulldogs. This is obviously an area MSU excels in as the Spartans score 16.15 points per game on the break, good for fourth nationally. The pace also shouldn't be something MSU is uncomfortable with due to the fact that it moves the ball quickly in transition.

Overall, expect this game to be physical and fast paced. I wouldn't be surprised if Bryant's length is a challenge for MSU early on and thus keeps it a tighter game. However, due to the Spartan's depth, ability to rebound, and knack for cashing in on turnovers for points, I expect the Spartans to pull away in the second half.

As far as individual matchups go, Jaden Akins guarding Timberlake will be fascinating. Akins has done incredible work on many of the best guards in the Big Ten. If Akins is able to neutralize Timberlake, then it could be rough going for the Bulldogs.

It will also be interesting to see how Jaxon Kohler and Szymon Zapala match up against Bryant's lanky and athletic bigs. The pair will likely have to defend out on the perimeter a fair amount. This seems like a game where Coen Carr and Carson Cooper could have a big impact as a result.

Games in March are rarely easy. Despite Michigan State being 19.5-point favorites, this game will likely test the Spartans' focus and attention to detail. If MSU can control the glass and force Bryant into running halfcourt offense, there shouldn't be much that scares MSU. But, if the Spartans aren't able to keep the Bulldogs' backcourt out of the lane and concede too many offensive boards, this one could be tighter than expected.

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