DETROIT — An hour before Syracuse’s game Friday night, assistant coach Gerry McNamara was sitting on press row watching Michigan State pull away from Bucknell. He was poring over pages of notes and keeping a keen eye on the No. 3 seed Spartans, whom the Orange will play Sunday at 2:40 p.m. The winner earns a Sweet Sixteen berth in Omaha, Nebraska, late next week.

Less than 48 hours after playing lockdown defense against high-powered No. 6 seed Texas Christian, Syracuse (22-13, 8-10 Atlantic Coast) matches up with No. 3 seed Michigan State (30-4, 16-2 Big 10). The game will air nationally on CBS from Little Caesars Arena.

Here’s what you need to know about the Spartans.

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 10-7

Last time they played: Eight years ago, Syracuse senior Rick Jackson led the then-No.7 Orange with 17 points and 16 rebounds to beat then-No. 8 Michigan State, 72-58, at Madison Square Garden. The game was part of the Jimmy V Classic at MSG. The Orange improved to 9-0 while MSU dropped to 6-3. It’s worth noting the Spartans have lost their last four meetings against SU, with their last win coming in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, which the Spartans won. Eighteen years ago, Michigan State topped Syracuse at, fittingly, the Palace of Auburn Hills, the home arena for the Detroit Pistons for nearly three decades until Little Caesars Arena opened last year.

The Michigan State report: The Spartans entered the season ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25, has never been ranked lower than No. 9 and has been ranked outside the top-five for just two all weeks all season. MSU ended the year ranked No. 5 and, by some accounts, should have received an even higher seed than No. 3.

Head coach Tom Izzo has been at the school since 1995, and he leads an MSU squad that effectively will have a home game Sunday. MSU’s campus sits about 90 miles west of Detroit. Izzo’s teams at Michigan State have never gone three-straight years without making the Sweet Sixteen. Over the past two years, the Spartans have been knocked out of the Tournament in the first weekend, putting that streak in jeopardy on Sunday.

The Spartans have a few common opponents with Syracuse this season, including North Carolina and Duke. While SU lost twice to UNC and once at Duke, the Spartans beat UNC by 18 back in November and lost to Duke in a close game, 88-81. Michigan State won the Big Ten regular-season championship (its eighth under Izzo) and had a 13-game winning streak before falling to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on March 3.

According to NCAA stats through Thursday, MSU has the 36th-best offense in the country (81 points per game), the 23th-best defense (65.2 points per game allowed) and fourth-best scoring margin (15.8). There is no team better in the entire country in rebound margin (10.4), assists per game (19.4) and blocked shots per game (7.3). No team has a defense that has held opponents quite as well as the Spartans have, as opponents shoot just 36.7 percent from the field, also the best mark in the country. MSU knocks down 41 percent of its 3-pointers, the seventh-best mark in the country.

The Spartans entered the season as a national title contender. They rely on a stifling defense and bruising play inside to win games. Sophomores Miles Bridges (17.3 points per game), Cassius Winston (12.6), Nick Ward (12.5), Joshua Langford (12) and five-star freshman Jaren Jackson Jr. (11.2) are the notable scorers, all five of whom average double figures. They don’t shoot the lights out from deep, but they have strong post play and good defense.

How Syracuse beats Michigan State: Given the strength of MSU’s defense, there’s a mismatch against the SU offense that has scored just 60 and 57 points, respectively, over its last two games. To win, Syracuse will need to pack the paint against MSU’s big bodies and limit turnovers on the offensive end, because buckets will come at a premium.

The game plan against TCU was to key in on forward Vladimir Brodziansky while contesting 3-pointers. On Sunday, you’ll likely see SU much more focused on the inside, from the top of the key down. If Syracuse can limit second-chance points and stay out of foul trouble, another strong defensive performance could punch its ticket to Omaha for the Sweet Sixteen.

Stat to know: 36.1

Michigan State ranks fifth in the country with an offensive rebounding percentage of 36.1 percent. The Spartans will want to exploit the openings in the 2-3 zone and collect second-chance points inside. Syracuse junior center Paschal Chukwu said after the TCU win that the Orange sent four and five guys to the boards against the Horned Frogs, and that probably won’t change against a team as formidable as MSU. SU will sacrifice its transition game and try to limit offensive boards.

Kenpom odds: Kenpom gives the Orange just a 25 percent chance to win and predicts 67-60 Michigan State victory.

Player to watch: Miles Bridges, guard, No. 22

Michigan State already had a loaded roster, then Bridges decided to return to school for his sophomore season. Boy did that change things. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound sophomore from nearby Flint, Michigan, averages 17.3 points per game, seven rebounds and 2.8 assists. He scored 29 points in MSU’s four-point win over No. 14 seed Bucknell on Friday. He is athletic, a threat from 3-point land and strong enough to get to the rim. Look out for this probable lottery pick.

Published on March 17, 2018 at 11:23 am

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