The Final Four wraps up with No. 2 Michigan State facing No. 3 Texas Tech Saturday night. Jason Logan has been covering the East Region of the bracket, which the Spartans claimed last week, while Brandon DuBreuil has followed the West Region and its champions, the Red Raiders.
They go head-to-head, giving three reasons why Michigan State or Texas Tech will cover, with the March Madness betting odds setting the Spartans as 2.5-point favorites.**video
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS VS MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (-2.5, 132.5)
THREE REASONS WHY MICHIGAN STATE COVERS
NO. 1: OWN THE BOARDS
Michigan State is one of the better rebounding teams in college basketball – ranked fifth in total rebounds per game - and has been especially strong on the glass during the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans were able to keep bigger opponents like LSU and Minnesota off the boards and held their own against a very active Duke team and Zion Williamson, totaling 11 offensive rebounds which added up to extra scoring chances in that Elite Eight win.
The Red Raiders are 224th in total rebounds per game and allow foes to find offensive boards 8.4 times an outing. Texas Tech has been outworked on the glass in all but one of its tournament games (Buffalo) and doesn’t pose much of a threat for put-back buckets, sitting 236th in offensive rebounding.
While TTU is the defensive monster in this matchup, MSU should not be dismissed on that end of the floor. The Spartans are eighth in defensive efficiency and will get stops against Texas Tech, collecting those misses on defense as well as scoring second-chance points on the offensive glass.
NO. 2: TAKING CARE OF TURNOVERS
Outside of a brain fart versus Minnesota in the Round of 32, in which Michigan State coughed the ball up 20 times, the Spartans are very careful when it comes to turnovers. They had just six against one of the best ball-hawking defenses in Duke, recorded only six in the win over LSU, and tightened up in the second half versus Bradley with nine turnovers in that NCAA opener.
Texas Tech thrives on those mistakes, ranked 15th in creating chaos with 15.7 forced turnovers per outing. The Red Raiders made Gonzaga’s surehanded backcourt cough it up 15 times in the Elite Eight and squeezed 14 turnovers out of Michigan, which averaged only nine per game on the season. Cassius Winston is a rock in the backcourt for Tom Izzo, and had only one turnover against a very aggressive Duke defense.
Texas Tech isn’t going to generate those extra possessions or score on easy transition buckets, forcing their inconsistent offense to play a halfcourt set. Between their scoring lulls and MSU’s tough defense, the Red Raiders will struggle to scrounge up points.
NO. 3: CAN’T BULLY THE BULLY
Texas Tech is a physical force on the hardwood, using its size and speed to plug up gaps and beat opponents to the spot with intuitive help defense. And when shots do go up, the Red Raiders are fantastic at forcing bad ones and turning away their fare share, averaging five blocks per game.
They’ve been able to physically dominate and wear down their opponents and made Gonzaga’s top-ranked offense look like an ordinary team from the WCC. The Red Raiders are extremely active and hustle for every possession they can get, but run into a MSU program with that same fire.
The Spartans are tough, which is nothing new for a crew from East Lansing. Michigan State has battled bigger bodies in Minnesota and Louisiana State and stood toe-to-toe with the freakish strength of Zion. They won’t get rattled when TTU starts throwing its weight around – in fact, MSU will welcome it.
Turning to the battle of brains – not brawn – Izzo will have the insight and experience edge over Red Raiders head coach Chris Beard, having a week to prepare for this defense and prep his men for what should be a war Saturday night in Minneapolis.
THREE REASONS WHY TEXAS TECH COVERS
NO. 1: DEFENSE!
This one is easy because defense wins championships, right? And Texas Tech has an elite defense that ranks first in the NCAA in defensive efficiency (85.1 percent), first in KenPom’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency metric (84), and third in points against per game (59).
The Red Raiders have been in shutdown mode in the tournament, allowing 57, 58, 44, and 69 points so far. What’s even more impressive is that two of these games came against two of the top-ranked offenses in the country in Buffalo and Gonzaga. Texas Tech held the Bulls 26 points below their season average and the Bulldogs 19 points below their season average.
Texas Tech is also one of the best teams in the nation at limiting team assists, allowing just 9.8 per game, the fifth-fewest in the nation. That just happens to be a strength of the Spartans as they have totaled 40 assists over the last two games and are third in the nation in averaging 18.7 per game. The Red Raiders are going to frustrate the Spartans by not allowing them to move the ball like they are used to and that’s going to be one of the biggest edges they have in this one. Michigan State’s defense is good but Texas Tech’s defense is better and it’s one of the reasons why the Red Raiders will be playing on Monday.
NO. 2: OFFENSIVE EDGE
Texas Tech has the best offensive player in this game and that is a huge advantage in a game with a total set in the low 130s. Sophomore guard Jarrett Culver is a legitimate NBA lottery prospect who is playing incredible basketball at the right time of year, averaging 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in four NCAA Tournament games. The Big 12 Player of the Year takes 32.3 percent of Texas Tech’s shots while he’s on the court and will need a big game to get his squad through to the Final Four.
But Culver isn’t alone at the offensive end of the court. The Red Raiders feature a couple of sharp-shooting guards who can light it up from long range in Davide Moretti (46.3 percent from three) and Matt Mooney (38.1 percent from three). If these two get hot from downtown, the Red Raiders should find themselves playing for the national championship.
Some might argue that Texas Tech’s offense ranks the lowest of any team left in the tournament according to KenPom’s Offensive Efficiency Ranking, and that is true as the Red Raiders rank 29th. But their offense is much improved over the past two months and they actually rank No. 8 in the nation since Feb. 2. Texas Tech managed to score against Michigan’s second-ranked scoring defense (58.3 points against) and should also find a way to score against the Spartans defense that allows 65.1 points per game.
NO. 3: TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
The public narrative all week has been that Michigan State beat Duke. And of course Duke was the No. 1 overall seed and it has Zion Williamson, so the Spartans must be the real deal, right? But let’s be realistic. The Blue Devils were not playing their best basketball in the tournament and would have — and should have — lost to both UCF and Virginia Tech had it not been for some very fortunate events and bad calls late in the games that went their way.
Duke was sloppy with the ball in the Elite Eight, turning it over 17 times, and that is biggest factor that led to its loss. Texas Tech is not going to give the ball away 17 times. The Red Raiders turn the ball over 12.3 times per game on the season and have given it away just 11.5 times per game so far in the tournament. That includes giving it away just eight times when they played Michigan in the Sweet 16 and that is important as the pace of this game should be similar to the Red Raiders-Wolverines matchup last weekend.
Texas Tech is going to take care of the ball in a game that doesn’t have many possessions and that’s going to help push the Red Raiders into the National Championship game.
KEEP AN EYE ON THE LINE MOVEMENT FOR THIS FINAL FOUR MATCHUP HERE
