The Michigan State Spartans made it to the Elite Eight in the 2014 NCAA Tournament before falling to the eventual champion Connecticut Huskies. Their opponent on Friday, the Georgia Bulldogs, are in the big dance for the first time since 2011.
Tom Izzo's Spartans (23-11) enter today's matchup with Georgia following a heartbreaking loss in the Big Ten Championship game against the Wisconsin Badgers. Michigan State led by two in the final seconds before Wisconsin tied it up, forced over time and then scored 11 straight points as the Spartans put up a goose egg and fell 80-69.
But they won't let that affect their NCAA Tournament success.
Led by senior guard Travis Trice, who is tops on the team in points (14.8) and assists (5.2) per game, the Spartans have a balanced attack and have been to the Sweet 16 in six of their past seven NCAA Tournament appearances. They made the Final Four twice over that span, but fell to Butler in the National Semifinal and North Carolina in the National Championship.
Michigan State faced a number of formidable opponents this year, such as Duke, Kansas, Notre Dame, Maryland (twice), Ohio State and Wisconsin (twice), but was only 1-7 in those matchups.
As for Georgia (21-11), the Bulldogs were a bubble team but the Selection Committee gave them a bid. Two losses to South Carolina had many worried about their resume even though they faced tough teams, including Kentucky (twice), Arkansas (twice), Ole Miss (twice) and Florida as well as other out-of-conference opponents such as Gonzaga, Seton Hall and Kansas State.
Senior forward Marcus Thornton leads the way for Georgia with 12.3 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game followed by guard Kenny Gaines (11.6 ppg), forward Nemanja Djurisic (11.1 ppg) and guard Charles Mann (10.9 ppg). The Bulldogs are no stranger to tough competitors, so don't expect them to be intimidated by the experienced Spartans.
Here are some key stats to know before tip-off at 12:40 p.m. ET in Charlotte, NC.
Michigan State Georgia RPI - .6041 (22nd overall) RPI - .5811 (37th overall) SOS - 7 SOS - 33 Points Per Game - 71.9 (67th overall) Points Per Game - 68.3 (151st overall) FG% - .471 (32nd overall) FG% - .435 (177th overall) Points Allowed Per Game - 63.4 (90th overall) Points Allowed Per Game - 64.2 (113th overall) Turnovers Per Game - 11.6 (81st overall) Turnovers Per Game - 12.8 (198th overall) Season Rank - 23 Season Rank - 38
Check out the live stream for Michigan State vs. Georgia here as well as the live radio broadcast here. The game will be televised on truTV.
