GREEN & WHITE

NCAA tournament tipoff: Michigan State vs. Miami

Graham Couch
Lansing State Journal
Miami guard Davon Reed (5) shoots during the Hurricanes' ACC tournament win over Syracuse last week. Reed leads Miami at 15 points per game.

•What: 9-seed MSU vs. 8-seed Miami, NCAA tournament, first round

•When: Approximately 9:15 p.m. Friday

•Where: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma

•TV/Radio: TNT / Spartan Sports Network, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM; Sirius 136, XM 202

•Records/Rankings: MSU is 19-14 overall, finished 10-8 in the Big Ten and unranked. Miami is 21-11, 10-8 in the ACC and also unranked.

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA tournament brackets, scores, schedules, teams and more.

•Coaches: MSU — Tom Izzo is 543-219 in his 22nd season, all with the Spartans. Miami — Jim Larranaga is 609-402 in 33 seasons, including 139-68 in six seasons with the Hurricanes.

•Series: These two programs have only met once, four years ago in Miami in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Hurricanes won that game, 67-59.

MSU

Pos.

Name

PPG

C (44)

Nick Ward (6-8)

13.6

F (22)

Miles Bridges (6-7)

16.7

G (3)

Alvin Ellis (6-4)

6.5

G (1)

Joshua Langford (6-5)

6.5

G (11)

Tum Tum Nairn (5-10)

3.7

Miami

Pos.

Name

PPG

C (21)

Kamari Murphy (6-8)

7.3

F (3)

Anthony Lawrence (6-7)

6.9

G (5)

Davon Reed (6-6)

15.0

G (11)

Bruce Brown (6-5)

11.9

G (0)

Ja’Quan Newton (6-2)

13.4

MSU update: The Spartans enter their 20th straight NCAA tournament with modest expectations and but also some degree of hope that their ceiling is greater than their No. 9 seed. Miles Bridges is the most gifted and productive MSU freshman in nearly four decades. Nick Ward gives the Spartans a true offensive post presence. Cassius Winston, offensively, sees the games as well as any point guard Tom Izzo has had. That trio, with wing Joshua Langford, make up the most fruitful freshman class in program history. They’re not without their flaws, however — defense, consisency and, mostly, youth. They’re run together is likely short. While Winston, Ward and Langford have more time at MSU, Bridges is almost certainly a one-and-done player. The Spartans go only as far as this foursome takes them, while also needed their complementary pieces to perform well.

Miamiupdate: The Hurricanes, similar to the Spartans, are an inconsistent bunch. They have wins over North Carolina, Duke and Virginia since late January. They’ve also lost three of their last four games, including a 25-point thumping at the hands of the Tar Heels in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. Guard Devon Reed and center Kamari Murphy are the leaders of this outfit, two of the best Jim Larranaga says he’s had. Larranaga believes Murphy should have been ACC defensive player of the year. Reed is a terrific and complete guard, who shoots 40 percent from beyond the arc, averages nearly five rebounds per game and leads the Hurricanes in scoring.

RELATED:

About the matchup: MSU can’t win this game — or any game in this NCAA tournament — without major minutes and contributions from Ward and Winston. Ward, one-on-one, can score on probably anyone in college basketball. Murphy could test him, though Murphy doesn’t seem to have the length to bother Ward on his own. Miami’s backcourt, however, does have the length to bother MSU. The Hurricanes go as their backcourt goes and it’s a good one. Reed can score in a variety of ways and figures to be a tough guard for Langford and others. MSU’s advantage is likely Bridges at power forward against a slender and limited offensive threat in Anthony Lawrence. Some years MSU gets a decisive edge in the coaching matchup early in the NCAA tournament. But Larranaga is a savvy old bird who’s survived and thrived in college basketball for a long time. Miami will try to control the tempo and keep MSU from scoring in transition.

Prediction: I don’t think Tom Izzo has any idea how this game is going to turn out or what he’s going to get from his team. I don’t either. In tournament play, I tend to go with the team with better guard play.

» Make it: Miami 67, MSU 62

— Graham Couch