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NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Game Thread: LSU Tigers vs. Michigan State Spartans

By Ryan O'Bleness
NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-Second Round-Michigan State vs Minnesota Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

The Michigan State Spartans have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015 when the team made a Final Four appearance. Now the LSU Tigers stand in the way of a trip back to the Elite Eight. tip-off is set for 7:09 p.m. at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., and you can watch the game on CBS.

This is really an interesting matchup. On one end, I see LSU as a team that can cause problems for the same reasons that have been mentioned on The Only Colors throughout the week — good size, great athleticism, strong on the offensive glass and most worrisome, the Tigers’ ability to steal the ball and cause turnovers. On the other end, I understand why some people on the LSU side may see this as a nightmare matchup for their squad — MSU is physical, dominates the rebounding game and plays strong defense — the Spartans are going to force the Tigers to use a lot of the shot clock and contest nearly every shot attempted, while LSU is a poor three-point shooting team. The Tigers could really struggle if the Spartans take away the paint.

On top of all of that, MSU clearly has the upper-hand in the coaching department, is dealing with less adversity than its counterpart and has been strong in the second half of games all season long. LSU, on the other hand, has struggled in the final 20 minutes under interim coach Tony Benford — but they have found a way to survive and advance throughout the tournament. It’s really going to be intriguing to see how this one shakes out.

The winner of this game takes on the winner of the Duke/Virginia Tech matchup, which tips off following the conclusion of the MSU/LSU contest.

Go Green!

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