Projecting MSU's Starting Lineup, Rotation vs. Louisville
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BUFFALO, N.Y. --- The second round beckons for (3) Michigan State, which is trying to get to consecutive Sweet Sixteens for the first time since getting there four times in a row from 2012-15.
Standing in the way is sixth-seeded Louisville. MSU beat (14) North Dakota State and UL beat (11) South Florida to get here. These are the players Tom Izzo and the Spartans will likely be relying on the most during this Round of 32 matchup:
Starting Lineup
Michigan State has rolled out an identical starting lineup for the past 11 games. There really isn't too much reason to change things up with the season on the line. Fully expect to see Jeremy Fears Jr. at point guard, Jordan Scott at shooting guard, Coen Carr at small forward, Jaxon Kohler at power forward, and Carson Cooper at center when the jump ball happens at midcourt.
The distribution of the minutes here will still be interesting. If the game is tight, it would not be stunning to see Fears play 38, 39, or maybe even all 40 minutes. Coaches are much more comfortable having their starters give those types of minutes in March Madness, just for the obvious fact that the season is over if you lose.
MSU was able to generally cut the minutes of its starters in the first round, though, thanks to the big lead it built in the first half. Fears led the team with 33 minutes played and dished out 11 assists. Cooper was the only other starter to play 30+ minutes.
Overall, that's part of why the first round was a success for Michigan State. Not only did it advance with relative ease, but keeping its players' legs a little fresher before a one-day prep for Louisville is important.
Bench Contributors
Bench guys may see a downtrend in their minutes on Saturday, but their roles still have importance. UL played nine players against USF on Thursday --- despite the injury to star point guard Mikel Brown Jr. that will also keep him out of this game --- and MSU needs to be able to combat that depth a little to ensure Louisville doesn't have a stamina advantage at the end of the game.
The two biggest players coming off the bench for the Spartans are Cam Ward and Kur Teng. Ward had a really nice game against NDSU, scoring 13 points and blocking a pair of shots. Teng was quiet against the Bison, but he can still become a flamethrower from behind the arc on the right day.
You'll also likely see Denham Wojcik and Trey Fort enter the game in shorter shifts. Fort is gaining trust at the right time, though, and played decently against North Dakota State as well. Wojcik simply comes in as the backup point guard who can still run the offense relatively effectively while Fears takes a breather. I see Fort getting about 10 minutes, and Wojcik probably getting 2-4.
Tip-off between Michigan State and Louisville is set for 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS. The winner will face either (2) UConn or (7) UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen in Washington, D.C.
A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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