No. 22 UConn men’s basketball vs. Michigan State: time, how to watch
It’s a Thanksgiving showdown of two basketball blue bloods in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
No. 22 UConn will take on Michigan State (4-1) at noon on Thursday in the winners’ side of the bracket, with the victor earning a spot in the championship game.
Michigan State and Loyola-Chicago went down to the wire in tournament’s first game Wednesday, with an alley-oop dunk from Marcus Bingham Jr. with less than five seconds remaining securing the Spartans’ 63-61 victory.
Earlier in the season, Michigan State fell to now-No. 4 Kansas (87-74), beat Western Michigan (90-46), Butler (73-52) and Eastern Michigan (93-59). They received votes in this week’s Associated Press poll.
“Michigan State-UConn is a classic battle between those two brands, two incredible brands,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “It’ll be an honor to coach against Tom Izzo. Guys like Tom Izzo and my dad [Bob Hurley Sr.] and Coach [Jim] Calhoun are coaches I’ve looked up to and tried to model the way I coach after.”
Here’s what else you need to know about the matchup.
The basics
Site: Atlantis, Paradise Island, The Bahamas
Time: Noon
Series: Michigan State leads, 4-3
Last meeting: No. 4 Michigan State 77, UConn 57, Nov. 24, 2017, in Portland, Ore.
TV: ESPN
Radio: UConn IMG Sports Network on 97.9 ESPN (Wayne Norman, Mike Crispino)
Elsewhere in the bracket: VCU beat Syracuse 67-55, Baylor-Arizona State tip at 7:30 p.m.
Michigan State probable starters, sixth man
Gabe Brown, F, 6-8, Sr.; Marcus Bingham Jr., F, 7-0, Sr.; Max Christie, G, 6-6, Fr.; Tyson Walker, G, 6-0, Jr.; Malik Hall, F, 6-8, Jr.; Joey Hauser, F, 6-9, R-Sr.
UConn probable starters, sixth man
Isaiah Whaley, F, 6-9, Gr.; Tyrese Martin, G, 6-6, Sr.; Adama Sanogo, F, 6-9, So.; Andre Jackson, G, 6-6, So.; R.J. Cole, G, 6-1, Gr.; Tyler Polley, F, 6-9, Gr.
The matchup
UConn’s offense: No. 18 in offensive efficiency per KenPom. Sanogo is the leading scorer (18.6 points per game). Others featured are Cole and Polley coming off fabulous showings versus Auburn (24 points apiece), as is freshman Jordan Hawkins, who scored a career-high 16 points.
UConn’s defense: No. 27 in defensive efficiency per KenPom. Still what the Huskies take pride in the most.
Michigan State’s offense: No. 50 in offensive efficiency per KenPom. Brown (13.0), Bingham (12.4), Hall (11.6) all average double figures with Christie (9.6) not far behind. The team averages 76.6 points per game on 47% shooting (30.9% on 3s).
Michigan State’s defense: No. 3 in defensive efficiency per KenPom. 35.6% field goal defense, holding opponents to 31.3% on 3s... +10 margin on boards... 8.6 blocks per game... holding teams to 61 points per game.
UConn keys: No more slow starts, offensive execution in the face of intensified defensive pressure, cut down unnecessary turnovers
About Michigan State’s coach: Izzo is a Naismith Hall of Famer who has led Michigan State to one national title (in 2000), a NCAA Tournament runner-up finish (in 2009) and eight Final Fours.
Michigan State’s mascot: Sparty
Famous alumni: Journalist/columnist Jemele Hill, NBA legend Magic Johnson, actor James Caan
Alexa Philippou can be reached at aphilippou@courant.com
