Previewing Davidson-Michigan State
Former Michigan State guard and current Davidson Wildcat Foster Loyer dribbles the ball while suited up for the Spartans. <Image credit: Michigan State University Athletics>
Michigan State’s 2022 NCAA Tournament run kicks off in just a few hours from now, and while there’s typically a lot to be excited about for MSU fans at this time of the year, those who’ve followed the team this season know how inconsistent they’ve been.
The road to a Final Four is always tough, but this year, the path looks especially daunting for the Spartans. The team earned their seven seed in the 2022 tournament by playing well in the early months of the season before faltering down the stretch.
However, a surprise Big Ten Tournament run, in which MSU beat a competitive Maryland team and the Big Ten regular season champs in Wisconsin before falling in a tight game to Purdue, has kept a glimmer of hope alive in the eyes of many Spartan fans.
While the team didn’t exactly match its patented three-game losing streak in January followed by a scorching hot stretch of games in late February-early March like we’ve seen in the past, Tom Izzo’s 2022 squad is yet again rounding into form just in time for the start of March Madness.
Whether or not the aggressive style of play that MSU displayed in the Big Ten Tournament can be sustained, though, remains to be seen.
The first test comes against Bob McKilllop’s Davidson Wildcats in the Round of 64. McKillop’s squad is led by former Spartan point guard Foster Loyer, who transferred to Davidson in the summer after a three-year stint at MSU in which he failed to live up to the billing of a four-star recruit.
However, he’s now the senior leader of one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, and he, along with A-10 Player of the Year Luke Brajkovic, guided the Wildcats to a regular season conference title and their best record since the 2018-19 season.
The Spartans need to rely on their three-point defense, which ranked inside the top-three of the Big Ten, to stop the many flamethrowers that Davidson intends to throw at them. As one of the most athletic teams that the Wildcats have faced this season, MSU has a good chance to do just that.
Marcus Bingham, Jr. and Julius Marble will be tasked with guarding one of the only stretch-big men they’ve seen this year in Brajkovic, so it will be interesting to see if Davidson continually utilizes their spread offense to take advantage of the unique matchup.
What it comes down to, though, is the Spartans’ ability to make shots and take advantage of their size and athleticism. In very few instances this season have we seen Gabe Brown and Max Christie get hot at the same time. If the team wants to beat Davidson and make an extended run in this year’s tournament, the two starting wings will both have to play well consistently.
As great as A.J. Hoggard played against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals a few weeks ago, Tyson Walker’s health is also a huge factor in this matchup and the games going forward.
Walker was really coming into his own as a late-game shot maker for the Spartans down the stretch, and his scoring ability will be missed should he not be 100%. Guys like Brown, Christie and Malik Hall will have to step up in Walker’s scoring absence as his ankle continues to heal.
Should MSU play as aggressively and focused as they did in the Big Ten Tournament, a game against the 10th-seeded Wildcats could be a favorable matchup for them. That’s the key, though - consistency. We know what this team can be, it’s just a matter of which version decides to show up.
There’s no more important time of the year for MSU to string together a few wins than in March. The madness starts tonight.