Michigan State basketball vs. Bradley: 3 keys to victory, prediction
Chris SolariDES MOINES, Iowa — Of all the pride and joy Tom Izzo has taken this season with his Michigan State team, it isn’t the two Big Ten titles that he has been most impressed with.
It is the consistency with which the Spartans have performed almost all winter.
“When we're down and out, they don't change. And when we are really good, they don't change,” Izzo said Tuesday at Wells Fargo Arena. “When we are not so good they don't change. This year's team has been consistent, if you look at our offense and defense, and hopefully that will carry us through here and win a game (Thursday).”
No. 5 MSU opens as the second seed in the East Region against 15-seed Bradley around 2:45 p.m. (CBS). Here are three keys for the Spartans (28-6) to defeat the Braves (20-14).
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1. Move the ball
The thing MSU has done perhaps best this year is sharing the basketball. The Spartans rank third nationally at 18.9 assists per game, trailing only Belmont (19.7) and North Carolina (19.0). They have assists on 68.2 percent of their made field goals this season, with junior Cassius Winston third in the country at 7.6 per game and fellow starters Matt McQuaid, Kenny Goins and Xavier Tillman combining to average 6.2 more between them. The extra passes have also allowed MSU to find open looks from beyond the 3-point arc, as evidenced by McQuaid’s seven 3-pointers en route to 27 points against Michigan in Sunday’s Big Ten tournament title game win.
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2. Establish inside presence
The Spartans’ big men Tillman, Goins and Nick Ward are working to learn their new rotation since Ward’s return from left hand surgery before last week’s Big Ten tournament title run. MSU ranks fourth nationally in rebound margin at 9.0 per game and eighth in rebounds per game (40.9). Bradley ranks 145th in margin (1.2) and 232nd in rebounds per game (34.38). Both Goins and Tillman were up and down offensively in the Big Ten tournament, while Ward struggled to catch and rebound with his injured hand in a special brace he continues to adjust to playing with.
3. Continue to defend
MSU’s offense has been strong for most of the season, averaging 78.8 points per game, but its defense has been lights-out. The Spartans rank third in field-goal defense at 37.8 percent per game and have allowed opponents to shoot just 31.8 percent from 3-point range. They held U-M to 0 for 4 shooting and scoreless for the final 2:29. The Wolverines also were just 4 of 13 in the final 9:33 as MSU made its comeback, with freshman Aaron Henry continuing to show improvement at the defensive end in bottling up Ignas Brazdeikis after his hot first half. In winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, Bradley made just 39.1 percent of its shots over the three wins and did not score more than 61 points.
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Prediction
MSU 74, Bradley 55: This should be a high-tempo game at the outset, and for the Spartans to overcome any rust or weariness by getting out and running. What MSU may lack in depth in this matchup is easily made up for in talent disparity, and expect the Spartans to slow it down some and get some offense from their big men once they build a comfortable cushion.
Contact Chris Solari at csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.