UConn men’s basketball and Michigan State have faced off eight previous times officially in a series that dates back to 1989. The matchups have taken place literally all over the globe — from a heartbreaking 2009 Final Four UConn loss in Detroit to a Huskies win in Maui in 2010 to another UConn win at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany in 2012 that quickly took the vibes of a lost Huskies season banned from tournament play from hopeless to hopeful.
Another chapter will be written in Washington D.C. Friday night, as the 3-seed Spartans take on 2-seed UConn in the East Region final with an Elite Eight spot on the line. But prior to the ninth meeting these two schools, the Huskies and MSU got an early look at one another in October in an exhibition matchup. UConn won that game 76-69 in Hartford, and the Huskies will head to East Lansing next preseason to return the favor.
In that win, Tarris Reed Jr. and Braylon Mullins did not play for UConn as they recovered from preseason injuries. Alex Karaban and Solo Ball each had a game-high 18 points, while Jayden Ross was the only other Husky in double figures with 13 points. Eric Reibe held his own against a solid Sparty frontcourt of Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, posting five points and seven boards in 22 minutes.
Now, the stakes are much higher for this second meeting of the season. Per FanDuel, UConn is a 1.5-point favorite over MSU, with moneyline odds set at -122. The over/under for the game is set at 134.5. It’s hard to compare an exhibition game to the Sweet 16, let alone any game in October to one in March, but the Huskies think they are able to take away a few things ahead of what should be a physical Friday night matchup.
“There’s a couple key pointers that you can remember. Obviously the personnel, too. I mean, they’re so different from October to March, just like we are, how much better they’ve gotten,“ Alex Karaban said. ”I mean, their freshmen have gotten better. Everybody on their roster has been playing better than obviously they have in October. I think you just remember the physicality and the pace they play at.“
So what can the Huskies do to beat the Spartans for a second time this season and advance to the Elite Eight for the third time in four years? It boils down to two major keys.
Contain Jeremy Fears
Sparty point guard Jeremy Fears is the best distributor in the country, leading the nation in assist rate and a major reason why MSU ranks No. 2 overall in assists to field goal ratio. He had 16 assists and five turnovers in the Second Round win over Louisville and 40 assists to 13 turnovers in his last three games. In the exhibition against UConn, Fears still shared the rock with six assists, but also had six turnovers, which would have been a season-high had the game counted.
Malachi Smith and Silas Demary Jr. will have to hound Fears for the full 40 minutes in order for the Huskies to win, with Ross potentially helping out for stretches too. With Demary Jr. likely to play but still not at 100 percent, Dan Hurley will have to pick and choose stretches to put his best defender on the nation’s best distributor. While Fears was definitely bothered by UConn’s perimeter pressure in the exhibition, he did draw 11 UConn fouls and got to the free throw line 13 times. Demary Jr. and Smith will need to be physical but avoid any unnecessary fouls to stay on the court for as long as possible.
Take smart shots
Going up against an elite rebounding team like Michigan State, which ranks first in limiting offensive rebounds on defense and ninth nationally in offensive rebound percentage, means that every possession matters. While UConn has its fair share of talented rebounders in Tarris Reed Jr. and Karaban, UConn will need to continue to rely on its offense to create open looks and hope they can capitalize.
Braylon Mullins broke out of his shooting slump against UCLA, hitting two threes on his way to 17 points. Solo Ball is still struggling from deep and is just 1-11 from three in the tournament, but has had a week to reset. Then there is Karaba, who is fresh off his best game ever as a Husky with 27 points and four threes. With MSU likely to guard Reed one-on-one in the post due to their size, it will be a little harder for Reed to find open shooters on the perimeter than against UCLA. This means UConn will need to continue to run their sets and rely on the likes of Mullins,Ball and Karaban to run off screens effectively for open looks. The Huskies shot 37.5 percent from three in the exhibition win in October, and probably need to convert at a similar clip to advance.
If UConn continues to be relatively cold from three after shooting 33.3 percent against UCLA, Reed’s presence will be even more important as will Mullins, who is one of the top midrange shooters in the country. Ball has shown an ability to take the ball to the hole when shots aren’t falling for him, but got away from that against the Bruins. With MSU likely to vacuum most errant shots and win the battle on the boards, the Huskies will need to make every shot count and be smart with their possessions.
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