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Well my bracket is completely busted after day 3 of the tournament. I’ve lost 2 final four teams (Kansas and Villanova) and my champion (Kansas). My wife, whose knowledge of college basketball is comparable to my knowledge of wearing make-up (and no I don’t wear make-up!); hit 26 of 32 in the first round compared to my 21. She has Maryland winning it all, so today’s Michigan State game is pivotal in our house-hold bracket challenge. I have the Spartans winning today in my bracket but what the heck do I know.
I’m a numbers guy so here are some numbers on today’s match-up.
As you can see these teams are evenly matched. I’d like to point out two things on this chart. First, Maryland holds a decent edge in turnovers. If that holds true then MSU could be in trouble. Second, MSU holds a fairly large advantage in offensive rebounding. In my opinion if the Spartans can get after the offensive boards like they have all season, then they will have a great chance at winning.
Two great coaches in this one. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Maryland’s Gary Williams. Here are some more stats for you:
Stats from Statsheet.com
Notice the outstanding tournament records of both coaches. The only real edge is probably in final fours. Izzo has 5 final fours, with one of those coming last year. Several players returned from that team, but they are missing some key pieces (Suton, Walton, Grey). I think this one comes down to Michigan State’s ability to contain Greivis Vasquez. He is the reining ACC player of the year and does it all for Maryland. If MSU can slow down his penetration and not allow him too many open looks from the perimeter, Maryland could struggle. Problem is most teams can’t do those things to Vasquez.
Michigan State will need another big game from Kalin Lucas and key contributions from Draymond Green, Raymar Morgan and Durrell Summers in order to advance to the sweet sixteen for the 3rd straight year.
Can’t wait for this one, should be a great game to watch. Let’s hope my wife’s bracket gets busted up after this one and allow me to save face in our house-hold tournament challenge!
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What a shot by Korie Lucious! I’ll be back with a blog post about this instant classic. My wife’s bracket is now as busted as mine…I’m back in the game!