Memphis - Michigan State Preview

Sweet 16
Memphis Tigers (1) Vs. Michigan State Spartans (5)
Friday, March 28 @ 9:57 pm

The Memphis Tigers survived a last minute scoring rush by the Mississippi State Bulldogs to earn a ticket to their third straight Sweet 16 appearance. The Tigers committed just 16 fouls to State’s 23, which certainly helped keep them in the game.

Mississippi State hit 70% from the foul line and 42% from downtown, while the Tigers were accurate 47% of the time from the charity stripe and 38% from the three-point arc. Memphis and Mississippi State were 44% and 43% accurate from the field. Under the boards, the Tigers grabbed 42 rebounds while the Bulldogs took in 31.

Tough defense was the hallmark of this game with Memphis blocking 11 shots and stealing the ball three times and Mississippi State blocking 7 and taking away 2. Memphis forward Joey Dorsey earned a double-double, grabbing a dozen rebounds and scoring 17 points. He blocked a half-dozen shots. Point guard Derrick Rose pulled down 9 rebounds, dishing off 7 assists and throwing in 17 points.

With 7:04 left in the game, the Pittsburgh Panthers were within two of the Michigan State Spartans—45- 47. After that the Spartans pulled away, winning 65- 54. State did it with immensely accurate shooting—48% from the field; 60% from the three-point arc and 100% from the foul line.

Michigan State guard Drew Neitzel led all scorers with 21, while offering 4 assists and taking down 4 rebounds. Neitzel was 5 of 8 from downtown. Guard Kalin Lucas hit for 19 points. Inside, center Goran Suton took down 9 rebounds, while Drew Naymick, also at center, handled 7.

In their contest, the Spartans lost the ball to 14 turnovers, had 9 shots blocked and the ball stolen 8 times. That won’t do against Memphis. Likewise, Memphis has to shoot better than 42% from the foul line. Ball control, fouls and rebounding along with the three-pointer will all be important in this Sweet 16 contest.