Spartans Await Two Potential Opponents in Big Ten Quarterfinal
The No. 7 Michigan State Spartans (26-5, 17-3) have earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament, prompting a double bye to the Quarterfinal round and the potential to play one of two opponents to open conference tournament play.
The Spartans are set for a 12 pm ET tip-off on Friday against either the No. 8-seed Oregon Ducks (23-8, 12-8) or the No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers (19-12, 10-10). The Spartans faced each team once in the regular season, looking to keep momentum with one team and exacting revenge on the other.
Funny enough, Michigan State played these two teams back-to-back for a pair of home games that they would split. They started with a 12-point win over the Ducks, which happened to be the breakout game for freshman guard Jase Richardson with a career-high 29 points.
Michigan State overcame a 14-point halftime deficit, outscoring Oregon by 26 in the second half to earn their 10th conference win of the season. They did a fine job of bottling up senior center Nate Bittle with just eight points, while sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad went off for 22.
In the very next game at the Breslin Center, the Spartans were not so lucky. They were upset by the Hoosiers by four on their home floor, marking their third loss in the past four games. It would be the last time Michigan State lost this season as they ripped off seven straight wins to end the year.
The loss to Indiana marked one of the worst three-point shooting games that the Spartans had all season, going 4-23 (17.4%) from beyond the arc. They allowed senior center Oumar Ballo to drop a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, ultimately being outscored in both halves.
The Quarterfinal matchup will not be an easy one for the Spartans. The Ducks are soundly in the NCAA Tournament but want to improve their seeding while Indiana is still fighting to stay off the bubble and risk being one of the first four teams left out of the big dance.
Plain and simple, if the Spartans play the way they have been over the past month, they will handle business and move onto the Semifinal round on Saturday afternoon. The last time the Spartans won a regular season and tournament title in the same year was 2018-19, a Final Four season.
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