March Madness needs no introduction, there is enough basketball action and chaos that a whole month is dedicated to it. Conveniently for the state of Michigan, both major basketball teams MSU and Michigan are high on the rankings this year and both competing for a regular season Big 10 Championship. However, nothing compares to raising the March Madness Naismith trophy. But only one team can be a crowd champion and one question sparked. Who’s going to make it further in the tourney? An easy choice would be the MSU Spartans who are currently in a 2 seed position and have much more talent than a Michigan team that previously went 8-24 one of the worst performances in history. But after a new coach was hired for Michigan and two stand-out seven-footer transfers from other colleges the Wolverines are currently in a three-seed position tied with MSU in the Big Ten. However, I think MSU will get the edge in the tournament due to Michigan’s turnover concerns averaging 13 turnovers a game.
Where MSU lacks in three-point shooting they make up for their depth with over 11 players getting over 10 minutes of playing time led by true freshman Jace Richardson averaging over 15 points a game in the last five games. The increase in depth of players it als MSU to outlast opponents taking the lead in the second half and leading to their impressive season.
Another key factor to think about is seeding for March Madness if Michigan State is a 2-seed they won’t have to play a serious team until the elite 8, when Michigan would have to play multiple better teams than them to make the elite 8. Not to mention how the coaching differential is huge when it comes to Michigan’s coach, Dusty Maye who has less than a quarter of experience in March Madness compared to Tom Izzo who has over 30 years of coaching experience.
Finally, I think the biggest thing to think about is the head-to-head matchup between MSU and Michigan. MSU was able to beat Michigan at the Chrysler Center by over 10 points which is extremely impressive considering how difficult it can be to beat teams on the road in the Big 10. I think the smart pick is hands down MSU for making it further, despite the successful year from Michigan.
