The State of Spartan Nation Podcast Episode XIII
EAST LANSING – Michigan State and UCLA are set to tip-off in an NCAA Tournament play-in game Thursday at 9:57 p.m.
The winner of the First Four will face No. 6 BYU in the first round of the tourney.
MSU didn't play the Bruins this year, but the schools share a mutual opponent in Ohio State. UCLA fell to the Buckeyes 77-70, and the Spartans split with its Big Ten foe.
Today, Spartan Nation publisher Hondo S. Carpenter, Sr., and deputy editor McLain Moberg preview the matchup.
In the final two weeks of the regular season, Michigan State defeated Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan, proving they can hang with anyone.
However, the Spartans also boast some bad losses to Northwestern, Minnesota, and Rutgers; granted, MSU was fresh off a 20-day layoff against the Scarlet Knights, but the question remains.
Which Michigan State team shows up Thursday night?
On the other hand, UCLA struggled to finish out the year, stumbling in on a four-game losing streak with no momentum.
These are two extremely inconsistent teams, and the Bruins are just 4-10 against the spread in the past 14 neutral site-contests, whereas MSU is 2-10 ATS in the past 12 games as a favorite.
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