MSU Prepares for Familiar Head Coaching Matchup

The Michigan State Spartans are set to face the Ole Miss Rebels in the Sweet 16 on Friday night, going up against a familiar head coach that knocked this program out of the last Final Four it went to. The Spartans look to right the ship in 2025.

Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard is seen as Michigan State guard Matt McQuaid (20) looks to move the ball around Texas Tech guard Brandone Francis (1) in the first half of the Spartan's Final Four game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday, April 06, 2019. Ust Jh3 5987 | Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

The No. 2-seeded Michigan State Spartans (29-6) have a date with the No. 6-seeded Ole Miss Rebels (24-11) and head coach Chris Beard in the Sweet 16 this Friday night. They will face a head coach who got the best of the Spartans the last time he faced them in the tournament, looking to right the ship in 2025.

Beard was the former coach of Texas Tech from 2016-21, taking the No. 3 seed Red Raiders to the Final Four in 2019, where his team would square off with the No. 2 seed Spartans. He would ultimately hand Michigan State another national semifinal loss.

It would be a 71-61 final score, ending the Spartans' sensational season after knocking off Mike Krzyzewsky and the Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight. Texas Tech would go on to lose to Virginia in the national championship, a spot that the Spartans hoped they would reach.

This season, things are different. Beard is the No. 6 seed with his Rebels squad, finishing tied for seven in the SEC this season. He has one elite scorer in senior guard Sean Pedulla averaging 15.2 points and 3.7 assists, but the Spartans have shown their ability to lock up elite scorers.

Beard's game plan will surely not be identical to what it was in 2019, considering new personnel and such. Assuming he feels confident coaching against Izzo, Beard will pull out many of the same points of emphasis.

In the Spartans' Final Four loss to Beard and Texas Tech, Michigan State shot just 31.9% from the field on 47 shot attempts, grabbing just eight offensive rebounds and just 7 second-chance points. They also allowed four more shot attempts, helping the Red Raiders to 43.1% from the field.

Rebounding and limiting Michigan State's shot total was a key back then and could be this year. However, the current team at Ole Miss was the second-worst rebounding team in their conference at just 33.1 boards per game. The Spartans will likely dominate the glass for a majority of the game.

This team, Izzo and Spartan fans will all be hungry for redemption against Beard. 2019's Final Four was a game they should and could have won, seeking to make it so in 2025. They have the ability to defend, outrebound and beat anyone in the country, making Beard and Ole Miss the next victim.

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