RTC is providing coverage from start to finish of the NCAA Tournament for the next three weeks.
Miles Bridges led Michigan State into the Round of 32. (AP)
Three Key Takeaways:
- This was a different Michigan State team. The Spartans came into their meeting with Miami tonight as a slight underdog and 42nd-best team in KenPom. They had lost three of their last four games and for the most part had put together a disappointing season. During the Big Ten Tournament, however, head coach Tom Izzo made it clear that some of those struggles related to growing pains with his freshmen. Well, something flipped on Friday as Michigan State dominated the Hurricanes for much of the contest. The Spartans scored 1.24 points per possession, stifled Miami’s best offensive pieces, and set up an exciting matchup with Kansas in Sunday’s Round of 32. Izzo also moved to a 14-10 record as the lower seed in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Spartans did well to weather the early storm. Michigan State didn’t dominate the entire contest. In fact, for a while, it looked like the Spartans were going to get run off the floor by Miami. The Hurricanes opened the game by bounding out to a 10-0 lead before Michigan State closed the first half on a 38-17 run where it scored 1.23 points per possession. Miami was dogged by turnovers and gave up six offensive rebounds during the half. For the Spartans to weather such a storm while largely relying on the composure of freshmen was extremely impressive.
- Nick Ward powered Michigan State. Freshman forward Nick Ward has become a stabilizing presence on Izzo’s interior. When the Spartans need to find a bucket in a one-on-one situation, it’s easy for them to dump it down low to the 6’8″ forward and let him go to work. Ward put it all together against Miami tonight, scoring 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and grabbing three offensive rebounds. Ward’s performance was symptomatic of a larger issue for the Hurricanes as Michigan State managed to shoot 72.7 percent on its two-pointers in the contest.
Star of the Game: Miles Bridges, Michigan State. The former five-star recruit had himself a game against the Hurricanes, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists in the victory. Bridges also added a couple of impressive dunks to his season-long compilation.
Quotable: Tom Izzo perhaps best encapsulated every head coaches’ feelings at this time of year, telling Dana Jacobson in the postgame interview, “At this time of year, anytime you’re working, it’s a good thing.”
What’s Next: Miami is heading home while Michigan State moves on to face Kansas in the Round of 32 on Sunday. Tom Izzo is a ridiculous 21-4 in two-day turnarounds during that round and the Elite Eight during the NCAA Tournament.