Michigan State Basketball at its finest: Spartans stomp Bulldogs

Man, I love March. The Michigan State Spartans kicked off 2024 March Madness with a dominant wire to wire win against Mississippi State. This was some of the best basketball I’ve seen the Spartans play literally all season. Although they were the first game of the day at 12:15, the Spartans came out on fire. Maybe it was because they had the same start time twice in the Big 10 Tournament. Either way, Michigan State hit 8 of their first 11 shots which included 4 3-pointers. This allowed the Spartans to open up a 20-8 lead. Mississippi State settled in but not well enough. The guard trio of Hoggard, Akins, and Walker carried Sparty in the first half in which they took a 31-24 lead. In the second half Michigan State came out playing great again. After scoring 12 points in the first 4 minutes of the second half, Michigan State remained in full control for the rest of the game.

It was a total team effort for the Spartans starting on the defensive end. The activity was very obvious from the Spartan defense yesterday. Michigan State limited the Bulldog’s paint touches and it was evident because they limited talented big man Tolu Smith to 9 points. Michigan State also did a great job attacking Josh Hubbard with different looks. Multiple Spartans including Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman spent time guarding Hubbard. Hubbard scored 18 points but it was highly inefficient as he shot 6-18 and 3-11 from 3. Lastly, the Spartans did a good job on the glass with a +8 defensive rebounding margin.

The Spartans also had a great collective game on the offensive end. NINE players entered the scoresheet for Michigan State yesterday, and even more played. I thought Jaden Akins was the best player on the floor yesterday. He was all over the place whether it was throwing down a monster jam or a transition 3 Akins put his stamp on this one. Tyson Walker also had his fair share of moments in what seemed like a rather quiet 19 points for him. Michigan State shot 50% for the entire game and 43.5% from 3. One thing Michigan State will need to clean up is their turnovers. Mississippi state is a great defensive team but 16 turnovers is unacceptable. The game had a great ending as Tom Izzo sent in the reserves. While in, Davis Smith who is the son of legendary Spartan Steve Smith hit a 3 pointer as the shot clock was expiring. It was great to see how the whole team and even Izzo reacted.

Michigan State will need to bring that same intensity tomorrow because they are facing 1 seed North Carolina. With this game also being in Charlotte it will practically be a home game for the Tar Heels. Out of all the 1 seeds I do think UNC is most vulnerable to an upset. It will be a battle of blue bloods and I’m super excited. The preview will be out shortly. Go Green!