UConn vs Michigan State Tactical Breakdown: 3 Ways Huskies Can Beat Spartans
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The Huskies faced UCLA in their last game, in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The match ended with the Huskies winning 73-57. Despite trailing early, the Huskies turned the game around with a 14-5 surge.
The Huskies limited UCLA to 38.8% shooting while winning the rebounding battle 36-24. At 31-5, with 77.5 points per game and a +12.4 scoring margin, UConn will now head to the Sweet 16.
This is the program’s third Sweet 16 in four seasons and 17th overall. However, heading into the game, the Huskies will need more than just numbers to win.
Containing Michigan State’s Core Four Starts Everything
The Spartans have a core four that together account for 64.1% of the team’s scoring, combining for 50.8 points, 23.9 rebounds and 13.4 assists per game. The core includes Jeremy Fears Jr., Jaxon Kohler, Coen Carr and Carson Cooper.
Fears leads the team with 15.3 points and a nation-best 9.4 assists. Meanwhile, Kohler adds 12.6 points and 8.9 rebounds with 12 double-doubles, and Carr averages 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds. Cooper rounds it out with 11.0 points and 7.1 rebounds, bringing physical interior play and efficiency around the rim. UConn’s defense has to attack this as a unit.
Why Silas Demary Jr. Could Decide This Game
With such a core, the Huskies need Silas Demary Jr. After battling a Grade 2 high ankle sprain with calf and Achilles involvement, Demary Jr. still found a way onto the court against UCLA. He played 21 minutes off the bench and scored just two points. However, he still made an impact by stabilizing the offense and reducing careless possessions, which helped UConn control tempo.
Demary is averaging 10.6 points and 6.1 assists this season, is also UConn’s best perimeter defender, and is a key piece in a top-15 defense. Demary, ahead of the game against the Spartans, spoke to the press and gave an update on his status.
"I'm feeling a lot better. The past couple days have been a lot of rehab, a lot of treatment, just trying to get me as close as I can back to 100%. But I would say I'm feeling a little bit better. You know, doing everything I can. Still going to do stuff once we leave here, just trying to get even better. So I feel like I'm in a better spot than I was last week and just trying to get back closer to 100%,” said Demary Jr.
The 3-Point Equation UConn Must Solve
The Huskies are a strong shooting team, averaging 34.7% from three, over eight makes per game, and an efficient offense across the board. However, recently something has changed. The Huskies have hit double-digit threes just once in their last nine games, and that inconsistency becomes a problem against a defense like Michigan State’s.
They went just 3-of-24 against Marquette and 3-of-19 against St. John’s, both losses where the offense stalled badly. Even in wins, it’s been uneven, like 5-of-25 vs Furman and 8-of-24 vs UCLA.
The Spartans pack the paint, cut off driving lanes, and recover hard to the perimeter. And statistically, they can afford to; opponents shoot just 32.7% from the 3-point line against them. That puts UConn in a tight spot.
While the Huskies average 77.5 points per game, Michigan State scores even more at 79.3 and rebounds at a higher rate, too. If this turns into a half-court grind without perimeter scoring, the margins shrink.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.