The Blueprint for a Michigan State Victory in the Sweet 16

The Michigan State Spartans are preparing for a duel against the Ole Miss in the Sweet 16. The Rebels have a few weaknesses that the Spartans must exploit if they look to advance.

Michigan State forward Coen Carr (55) and forward Frankie Fidler (8) celebrate 71-63 win over New Mexico at the Second Round of NCAA tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday, March 23, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Michigan State coaching staff has spent almost a week preparing for their Sweet 16 matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels. Here are some aspects that the Spartans’ can take advantage of as they look to advance to the Elite Eight.

Ole Miss plays at a much slower tempo compared to the Spartans’ first two opponents of the NCAA Tournament. This means the game will be played primarily in the halfcourt, as neither team will commit many turnovers to run off of. 

One aspect of the game that the Spartans can take advantage of is rebounding. Ole Miss is an undersized team that allows nearly 40 rebounds a game.

Look for Michigan State forward Coen Carr to be a force on the boards. Against Bryant, the sophomore forward had a career-high nine rebounds in the first-round win. 

Also, Spartan forward Jaxon Kohler has had a slow March Madness so far, but there is an opportunity for the junior to turn that around against Ole Miss. The Rebels allow opponents to shoot over 50 percent on two-point shots. Kohler can take advantage of this, with his elite post-scoring ability.

If this was a football game, the Spartans would have to win the trenches and be the more physical team. This is fitting for Spartans head coach Tom Izzo, who has regularly compared this team and past teams he’s coached to a team on the gridiron. 

By far, the biggest offensive threat for Ole Miss is senior guard Sean Pedulla. After three seasons at Virginia Tech, Pedulla transferred to Oxford this offseason and has been a part of Chris Beard’s complete turnaround of the program. 

Even though Pedulla is the leading scorer for Ole Miss, averaging over 15 points per game, his facilitating is equally as dangerous for the Spartans. In the first two rounds of March Madness, Pedulla is averaging 6.5 assists per game. In the last six games where Pedulla has two or fewer assists, the Rebels are 2-4.

Ole Miss went on a 20-2 run in its Round of 32 game against Iowa State. The Rebels can explode at any time, as they are one of the best 3-point shooting teams remaining in the tournament. However, the Spartans are the best team at defending the 3-pointer, leaning on guards Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman, who are elite perimeter defenders.

Michigan State has proven that it can beat opposing teams by outperforming them on offense. However, the game favors the Spartans if they can keep it a low-scoring slugfest.

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