Spartans Must Succeed in Three Key Areas Against Auburn
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The No. 2-seeded Michigan State Spartans (30-6) are preparing for their toughest test of the entire season as they get set to battle the No. 1 overall seed Auburn Tigers (31-5) in Sunday night's Elite Eight matchup in Atlanta.
If the Spartans want to reach their 11th Final Four in program history and take down the top team in the tournament like they did in 2019 against Duke, there are three major areas that must be executed successfully.
Win Rebounding Battle
The Spartans had an uncharacteristically poor rebounding performance against the No. 6 seed Ole Miss Rebels in their Sweet 16 win on Friday. They were -4 in the rebound margin, allowing 12 offensive rebounds to Michigan State's five. This will be a major priority for Tom Izzo and his group.
Even though Ole Miss was one of the worst rebounding teams in the SEC, Auburn is not much better, and the Spartans will come out more physical in this game. Michigan State ranks 15th in the entire country in rebounds per game (39.8) while Auburn does not crack the top 50 (37.6)
The margin may not be significant, but if the Spartans are able to control the glass and earn some extra possessions with second chance points, they may possess a heavy advantage. As not the greatest shooting team in the tournament, rebounding for extra shot is imperative.
Perimeter Defense
When looking back at Auburn's Sweet 16 win over Michigan, it could not have shot the ball worse from 3-point range in the first half, leading to a 2-point Wolverine lead at halftime. Michigan played sensational perimeter defense, keeping many of the Tiger guards uncomfortable.
Michigan State is one of the best defensive teams in the country, specifically when guarding the basketball. If it extends its pressure to just beyond the arc, the Tigers may put together another subpar shooting day. They were 8-28 (28.6%) from 3 in the win over Michigan.
Limit Turnovers
Turnovers are going to be where the game is won and lost. The Spartans will get their share of turnovers even though Auburn is a team that only turns it over 9.4 times per game. The emphasis will be on the offensive end, limiting the lost possessions.
The Spartans had four turnovers in the first five possessions against the Rebels. When facing a top team like Auburn, they will take extreme advantage of those offensive blunders as they did against the Wolverines. The Tigers generated 23 points off of 15 Michigan turnovers, a total game-changer.
If Michigan State can keep it to single-digit turnovers and limit the Tigers on the other end from capitalizing, it will be in a fine spot to win this game. Michigan State is very talented on defense, but just as we saw against Michigan, the Tigers can score in bunches when given the extra chances.
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