Michigan State to face Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals
With the benefit of a double-bye, Michigan State men's basketball has been able to sit back and enjoy watching the first two days of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament.
Now, the Spartans know who they will play in their first tournament game — Ohio State. After a first round win over 12-seed Wisconsin on Wednesday, the 13th-seeded Buckeyes defeated Iowa in the second round on Thursday, 73-69, to advance to the quarterfinal round where Michigan State awaits.
Michigan State is 2-0 against Ohio State on the year, with a 62-41 win in Columbus back on Feb. 12 and an 84-78 victory in East Lansing on March 4, the final game of the regular season for MSU.
Friday's game between Michigan State and Ohio State will be the second game of the day in the Big Ten quarterfinals, following a matchup between top-seeded Purdue and ninth-seed Rutgers. Tipoff between the Spartans and Buckeyes is scheduled for 25 minutes following the conclusion of the previous game — approximately 2:30 p.m.
Michigan State (19-11 overall, 11-8 Big Ten) enters this game having won five of their last seven games. The Spartans' offense has performed at peak capacity over their last four outings, in which MSU has scored 87.5 points per game while shooting 51.3% from the floor and 57.6% from beyond the 3-point line.
However, as the Spartans' offense has come alive, Michigan State has seen its defensive prowess wane simultaneously. MSU has allowed its last four opponents to score 80.5 points per game, and their opponents have shot 49.4% from the floor and 40.8% from deep.
Defense had been a strength for Michigan State through the first three and a half months of the season. If the Spartans can return to form on the defensive end, while maintaining at least some of this recent momentum on offense, they'll be a team nobody wants to play this March.
After six days between games, in which Michigan State has had time to rest, recover and work on themselves in practice, we'll see what the Spartans look like on Friday afternoon.
It's been a wild Big Ten Tournament thus far, with the lower seeds winning each of the first four games of the tournament for the first time in history. It started on Wednesday when No. 13 seed Ohio State defeated No. 12 seed Wisconsin (65-57), and No. 14 seed Minnesota knocked off No. 11 seed Nebraska (78-75).
Then, on Thursday, No. 9 seed Rutgers beat No. 8 seed Michigan (62-50) before the Buckeyes took down No. 5 seed Iowa (73-69).
