Three takeaways from MSU basketball's dominant win vs. NDSU in NCAA Tournament
· Yahoo Sports
It typically isn't easy to win in the NCAA Tournament, but Michigan State made it look easy on Thursday.
No. 3 seed Michigan State steamrolled its way into the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 92-67 victory over No. 14 seed North Dakota State on Thursday. The Spartans essentially led throughout the game, with their lead never dipping below double-digits in the second half.
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Michigan State will now move on to the second round and face No. 6 seed Louisville on Saturday. The Cardinals beat No. 11 seed South Florida earlier in the day.
Before we turn our focus to the Spartans' next game, let's take a look at three notable takeaways from Michigan State's dominant victory over North Dakota State...
Spartans bounce back, handle business
This performance was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Spartans.
Michigan State bounced back from a pair of tough losses coming into the NCAA Tournament, and rolled from about the opening tip against the Bison. The Spartans led for the final 36 minutes of the game, and quite frankly the final score wasn't indicative of how close the game was throughout.
Michigan State was heavy favorites in this matchup so I'm not going to act like this was anything more than what it was, but it was nice to not have to sweat in the second half. I don't anticipate anymore games coming this easy for Michigan State the rest of the way this year so enjoy it when you can.
Spartans' stars showed out
If Michigan State gets the kind of performances from its big four the rest of the way like they did on Thursday, then there's a strong chance they'll find themselves in the Final Four and potentially beyond.
Michigan State's big four of Carson Cooper (20 points and 10 rebounds), Coen Carr (17 points), Jaxon Kohler (12 points and 9 rebounds) and Jeremy Fears Jr. (7 points and 11 assists) were simply dominant in this first round matchup. Combine their impressive performances with 13 points from Cam Ward off the bench and Michigan State will be tough to beat in this tournament.
Again, I want to point out that this was against a mid-major team and the opponents will only get tougher from here. But there is a ton of positives to take away from the performances of the Spartans' most important players.
Can Michigan State do it again?
We've seen at times this season that Michigan State will put forth a dominant effort only to lay an egg the next time out. So the question now becomes, can they do this again against a much better Louisville team on Saturday?
The matchup will be interesting but also similar from the first round, where Michigan State will need to defend the arc well again to get the win. Additionally, they'll need to shoot the ball well from outside -- Michigan State hit 10 of 20 three-point attempts in the win over North Dakota State. If Michigan State is able to win three-point battle on both ends again like this, then they'll most likely be heading to the Sweet 16.
This was an impressive win for the Spartans, but now things will get tougher. It starts with a talented Louisville squad on Saturday.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Three takeaways from MSU basketball's dominant win vs. NDSU in NCAA Tournament