MSU Freshman Phenom Richardson Ready for First Tournament Appearance
The Michigan State Spartans have spent the past 27 seasons playing in the NCAA Tournament, but it will be the first time for true freshman guard Jase Richardson. He will be getting his first taste of the big dance when the No. 2-seeded Spartans battle the No. 15-seeded Bryant Bulldogs Friday night.
The Spartans are heavily favored to take down the Bulldogs in the first round, but with it being March Madness, anything can happen. Richardson is well prepared for that uncertainty as he has trust in his team's ability to battle through adversity at any stage of a game in any circumstance.
"[I'd] probably say resilience from this team, honestly," Richardson said. "A lot of teams, they've punched us in the mouth before, and we've come back before, but I think the resilience that this team has, we can fight through adversity.
"We can go down a lot and come back up, or we can just have a lead, and we can fight. So I think that's the biggest thing for us."
The freshman phenom is averaging 12 points on 51.2% shooting but has elevated his game to another level in the past month. In his past 11 games, Richardson is scoring 17.3 points per game with four 20+ point performances during that stretch. He has proven to be an elite young talent.
Richardson was asked about his mindset heading into his first-ever tournament game. He mentioned the conversation that was had between Richardson and his national championship-winning father, Jason Richardson, focusing on the singular goal in mind at this time of the year.
"For me, I kind of just want to come in with the same mindset of every single game," Richardson said. "Not try to make it as big of a deal and try to come in and play calm, play smoothly.
"And with my dad, he kind of told me the same thing: [the] next three weeks, the only thing that matters is the national championship; everything else has to go out the window."
The Spartans tip off on Friday at 10 p.m. ET in Cleveland. Coverage of the game will be presented by TBS.
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