Bulldog Basketball set to face Michigan State in NCAA Tournament
Mississippi State basketball heard its name called on Selection Sunday for the second year in a row.
Mississippi State has not made back to back tournament appearances since the 2009 and 2010 seasons. However, second year head coach Chris Jans has quickly achieved that feat. Jans joins Auburn coach Bruce Pearl and Kentucky coach John Calipari as the only active SEC coaches to lead their teams to back to back tournaments in their first two seasons.
The Bulldogs entered Selection Sunday coming off a much needed successful showing in the SEC basketball tournament in Nashville. MSU defeated LSU and then shocked top seeded Tennessee in the second round to add another elite win to the resume. Had Mississippi State not beaten Tennessee they would have been in trouble due to the amount of bid stealers this year.
The committee seemed to be relatively high on Mississippi State compared to other bubble teams and rewarded them with an 8 seed. The Bulldogs are matched up with 9 seed Michigan State out of the Big Ten. This will be just the fourth all time meeting between the programs and first since 1973. Michigan State is led by legendary head coach Tom Izzo who is in his 29th year with the program.
The Michigan State Spartans are a somewhat tough draw for the Bulldogs as they are among the elite programs in college basketball. The Spartans have compiled two national championships, ten Final Four appearances, and 45 overall tournament appearances. This will be Michigan State's 26th consecutive tournament appearance which is the second longest active streak and a Big Ten record.
This year's Spartan team entered the season with very high expectations. They came in at #4 in the preseason polls before getting shocked in their home opener by James Madison. The Spartans preceded to underachieve all season but still find themselves in the dance.
Michigan State enters the tournament with a 19-14 overall record and 10-10 record in Big Ten play. They finished eighth in the Big Ten and defeated 9 seed Minnesota but fell to 1 seed Purdue in the Big Ten tournament last week. The Spartans have a solid NET ranking of 24. However, they are just 3-9 against Quad 1 opponents. Their marquee wins include Baylor, Illinois, and Northwestern.
The Spartans are led by graduate Tyson Walker. Walker is in his third year with the program after spending his first two at Northeastern. He averages 18.2 points and 32.8 minutes a game which are both team highs. Walker was named a second team all Big Ten guard for the second year in a row.
Another key piece for Michigan State is senior guard AJ Hoggard. The veteran from Coatesville, PA has appeared in 129 games over his four year career with the Spartans. He averages 11.0 points and 28.6 minutes a game. He leads the team in assists averaging 5.2 a game.
Mississippi State and Michigan State are set to face off at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament tomorrow at 11:15 a.m.