Michigan State basketball picked up a dominant win over Mississippi State on Thursday to advance to round two. What’d we learn?
Michigan State basketball is moving on. The Spartans took on Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and destroyed the Bulldogs 69-51.
This arguably was one of the most complete games I’ve seen from MSU all season. And it couldn’t have come at a better time when many doubted if they even belonged in the NCAA Tournament.
Here are my biggest takeaways from the Spartans’ massive victory.
1. Locked in from the start
Starting fast has been an ongoing issue for MSU all season. Countless times, this team has dug itself into a deep hole and eliminated nearly any chance of a comeback. That however wasn’t the case on Thursday.
The Spartans started extremely fast, hitting shot after shot and jumping out to a 20-8 lead. Sometimes this team is locked in on one side of the ball, but on Thursday they were locked in on both sides from the jump.
To make things even better, Michigan State didn’t even have a terrible stretch in this game either. They had one point in the first half where they struggled to score, but the lead still never shrunk below five. For a team that’s struggled to start games, this was an extremely positive sight to see from the Spartans.
2. Elite 3-point shooting
Michigan State has been a very up-and-down 3-point shooting team this year. On Thursday, however, the Spartans were on fire. As a team, they shot 43.5%, which is 14 percent higher than Mississippi State allowed this year.
Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins led the way with three makes each, and MSU even got contributions off the bench from Xavier Booker and Tre Holloman. Also a quick shoutout to Davis Smith for that deep three to end the game.
Elite shooting is often the difference between winning and losing in March, and thankfully for MSU, it shot the ball well enough to beat anyone.
3. This team looks like it can go on a run
I’ll admit, I have Michigan State losing in the second round to North Carolina, but I’m starting to second-guess that pick. This team can beat anyone if they are as locked in as they were in this game. The Spartans just looked like they had an edge to them, and you could just see it in their eyes from the start.
That focus will be needed with a potential date with 1-seed North Carolina on the horizon. But everything the Spartans did today increases my confidence exponentially.
However, can they stay consistent? That has been another issue for MSU this year, so who knows what team will show up on Saturday. But this win, on the biggest stage in college basketball, makes me a firm believer that they can go on a run.
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