The Michigan State Spartans advanced in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Mississippi State, 69-51, in Charlotte, NC. Be sure to check out Kevin Thomas' ten thoughts on the game as well as Matt Sheehan's and Carter Elliott's podcast breakdown. Tom Izzo called it an old school win.
Here are Kevin Thomas' ten thoughts on how the Spartans can beat the Tar Heels:
GET BACK IN TRANSITION DEFENSE
North Carolina technically has two point guards on the floor, No.2 Elliot Cadeau (145 assists) and No.4 RJ Davis (121 assists). Both are excellent passers, and both have a knack for lulling you to sleep and quickly finding someone streaking to the basket in transition (or in half-court sets) -- usually No.55 Harrison Ingram or No.5 Armando Bacot. The Spartans cannot give up easy baskets to the Tar Heels.
TAKE UNC'S SMALL GUYS TO THE RACK
As good as Cadeau and Davis are offensively, some of the film -- most notably against North Carolina State -- showed that downhill guys like AJ Hoggard or quicker/faster guys like Tyson Walker can finish at the rim.
MALIK HALL EMERGES
Hall struggled against Mississippi State's physical interior defense, but he will get a few more opportunities for one-on-one match-ups in this one. As good as Bacot is as a rebounder, Hall can put him in the spin cycle and get to the rim.
BIG MEN ON THE BOARDS
The center position committee of Mady Sissoko, Carson Cooper, and Jaxon Kohler has to box out, rebound, and maintain an interior presence against one of the most effective rebounding teams in the country. Bacot has 361 rebounds, 108 of which are offensive rebounds, and Ingram has 311 rebounds, 93 of which are offensive rebounds. The Spartans have to at least neutralize these guys.
FIND THE PERIMETER SHOOTERS
A big difference between Mississippi State and North Carolina is that the Bulldogs -- while having better and more physical athletes than the Tar Heels -- are not as skilled in basketball fundamentals, especially shooting.
North Carolina has the skill to spread you out, find interior guys with nifty passes, or knock down three-point shots. Davis has knocked down 110 of 268 shots (41%), and Ryan Cormack has hit 68 of 199 (34.2%). A big dilemma for MSU is Ingram, who is not only adept at finishing at the rim, but has hit 58 of 156 from deep, a 37.2% average.
SPARTANS MUST ATTACK IN TRANSITION
One way the Spartans can counteract NC's transition attack is by themselves doing the attacking on transition and forcing the Tar Heels to decide how committed they want to be regarding attacking the rim themselves.
