Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State Faces Duke on Sunday for a Berth in the Final Four
3/30/2019 6:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON – No. 2 seed Michigan State faces No. 1 Duke in the East Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 31 at Capital One Arena. Tipoff is slated for 5:05 p.m.
The game will air live on CBS with Jim Nantz calling the play-by-play, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery serving as the analysts and Tracy Wolfson on sidelines.
Records
Michigan State, winners of eight-straight games and 13 of its last 14, beat third-seeded LSU, 80-63, on Friday night in the regional semifinal and enters the game with a 31-6 overall record. Duke beat Virginia Tech on Friday night, 75-73, and is 32-5 overall.
Last Time Out
Michigan State scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed on the way to the 80-63 win over LSU … Freshman forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) scored a career-high 20 points and had eight rebounds while classmate Gabe Brown (Yipsilanti, Mich./Belleville) came off the bench to score a career-best 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line … Junior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) scored 17 points and handed out eight assists, while sophomore forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) had 12 points and eight rebounds.
About the Spartans
The game will air live on CBS with Jim Nantz calling the play-by-play, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery serving as the analysts and Tracy Wolfson on sidelines.
Records
Michigan State, winners of eight-straight games and 13 of its last 14, beat third-seeded LSU, 80-63, on Friday night in the regional semifinal and enters the game with a 31-6 overall record. Duke beat Virginia Tech on Friday night, 75-73, and is 32-5 overall.
Last Time Out
Michigan State scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed on the way to the 80-63 win over LSU … Freshman forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) scored a career-high 20 points and had eight rebounds while classmate Gabe Brown (Yipsilanti, Mich./Belleville) came off the bench to score a career-best 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line … Junior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) scored 17 points and handed out eight assists, while sophomore forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) had 12 points and eight rebounds.
About the Spartans
- The Spartans are making their 10th trip to the Elite Eight in 22 NCAA Tournament appearances under Tom Izzo.
- This is MSU's fifth appearance in a regional final in the last 11 years.
- The Spartans are 11-1 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this season.
- Through 37 games, Winston leads the team with 18.8 points per game and 7.5 assists per game ... Winston is fourth in the Big Ten in scoring and is No. 3 in the country in assists per game.
- Junior forward Nick Ward (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln), who missed five games with a hairline fracture in his left hand, is averaging 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds.
- Senior guard Matt McQuaid (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville) is averaging 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists
- Tillman is scoring 9.8 points per game, is second on the team with 7.2 rebounds and is third in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (60.9 percent).
- In 11 starts since Ward's injury, Tillman is averaging 12.6 points and 7.9 rebounds.
- Redshirt senior Kenny Goins (Troy, Mich./Warren Mott) is sixth on the team in scoring with 8.1 points and leads the team with 9.0 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 41 nationally.
- Henry is averaging 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds (7.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg in 20 starts).
- Michigan State is holding its three NCAA Tournament opponents to 38.8 percent shooting from the floor overall, including just.28.1 percent from behind the arc.
- Michigan State's deep NCAA Tournament runs can be attributed to its success with quick turnarounds … ///Under Tom Izzo, the Spartans are a remarkable 22-6 in the second game of an NCAA Tournament weekend.
- Five of the six losses have all come to No. 1 seeds or eventual National Champions.
- In three NCAA Tournament games this year, MSU has held its opponent to below 45.0 percent shooting, including its last two to below 40.0 percent shooting.
- Dating back to last season, the Spartans have held their last five opponents to below 45.0 percent shooting from the floor.
- This is the 15th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Duke, with the Duke leads the all-time series 12-2.
- The teams have met five times in the NCAA Tournament, with the Blue Devils holding a 4-1 advantage.
- Duke won the last meeting 88-81 at the Champions Classic on November 14, 2017.
- Michigan State's last win came in the 2005 Sweet 16, a 78-68 win in Austin, Texas.
- Duke is led by a pair of freshman phenoms in Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, both averaging more than 20 points per game.
- The two led the ACC in scoring with Barrett scoring 22.7 points per game and Williamson adding 22.6 … Barrett is just the fifth Blue Devil all-time to score 800 points in a season (839).
- Williamson is the only player nationally averaging 20.0+ points and shooting .650+ from the field ... The pair have a combined 47 20+ point games between them this season.
- Fellow freshman Cam Reddish is third on the team averaging 13.6 points ... Tre Jones leads the team with 187 (5.3 per game) assists this season.
Players Mentioned
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