Michigan State basketball will face off against USC on Friday and before the match-up, we spoke to TrojansWire editor Matt Zemek to get his thoughts on MSU, this year’s USC team, and more.
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You can see what he had to say below:
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What should Michigan State fans know about the story of this particular USC team and their season?
USC overachieved this season. Five-star big man Vince Iwuchukwu had an episode of cardiac arrest in July. No one knew if he would play at all this season. He was medically cleared to play on January 12, and for the first few games, he played just five or six minutes per game. He was very slowly integrated into the team because of a medically-based minutes restriction (not Andy Enfield’s choice, but the doctors’ guidelines). Only after a few weeks did he play closer to 20 minutes. He never played 30 or more minutes in any game. This was supposed to be the key piece to the puzzle, given that Enfield has recruited and cultivated elite big men as his cornerstone defenders and rebounders at USC: Onyeka Okongwu (No. 6 lottery pick in the draft) in 2020, Evan Mobley (No. 3 pick) in 2021, then Isaiah Mobley in 2022. Iwuchukwu was supposed to be next in line, and Enfield barely had a chance to do anything with him in 2023 because of his health problems, which included back soreness these past few weeks. Iwuchukwu has missed USC’s last two games.
Given that reality, and given that USC has a very thin bench — only one bench player, Reese Dixon-Waters, has been relatively consistent over the course of the full season — the Trojans were swimming against the tide. Making the NCAA Tournament this season was improbable, but the Trojans did it. They lost their season opener at home to Florida Gulf Coast. They lost in the Battle 4 Atlantis to Wisconsin and Tennessee. Their path to an at-large bid was very narrow. They absolutely had to beat UCLA, and they did … with a 52-27 second half, easily their best half of ball this whole season. I still don’t know how they got here, but they did. It all seems so unlikely. We’ll see if USC plays freely, as though it is playing with house money. The Trojans ought to be loose. They really should have nothing to lose in Columbus.
What is the USC perspective on this MIchigan State team and how their season has gone?
I haven’t watched a ton of Michigan State basketball this season, but I have watched some. It has been quite a ride. You almost beat Gonzaga in what was a low-scoring game, but that outdoor basketball game obviously was not a normal hoops experience, so it became obvious that it was an outlier in terms of MSU being able to shut down opponents. The Spartans’ defense didn’t remain intact as the season went on. It seemed to me that Tom Izzo’s ambitious schedule caught up with the team a little bit in early December. Playing the Phil Knight Legacy in Portland, followed by the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and then those early Big Ten games, was all a bit too much.
When the heart of the Big Ten season began, it became clear that it was Purdue and the 13 (11?) dwarfs. The fact that MSU couldn’t emerge as the clear-cut second-best team in a muddled, cluttered Big Ten showed how limited this team was. The Iowa game a few weeks ago was a spectacular defensive collapse. Going under screens instead of over, sagging back on that last tying Iowa 3-pointer in regulation — this was not a Tom Izzo team I recognize.
Yet, it’s tournament time. January, February, Izzo, April, May … I expect Michigan State, a basketball school (unlike USC), to be very much on task and be a problem. No. 7 seeds have done well under Izzo, 2015 being the best example and 2003 being a very good one. Trojan fans should expect Michigan State’s effort to be off the charts, which means USC will have to match that, and I think USC might have a problem with the Big Ten “body clock” issue (welcome to 2025!) playing at 9:15 a.m. Pacific time in Ohio.
What are the keys to a win for USC?
To me, it’s about rebounding and possessions. USC got destroyed by Arizona State on the offensive glass in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals. The Trojans almost always lose when they allow lots of extra possessions, either through an opponent’s offensive rebounding or their own turnovers. USC is an effort team under Andy Enfield. He is great at coaching effort, so when other teams outhustle USC, that’s usually “tap city,” as the late, great Al McGuire would say. When USC doesn’t value the ball, that’s usually fatal. When USC is making hustle plays — Kobe Johnson is our steals-and-50-50 balls guy — the Trojans are usually in a good position to win. We’re unsure if Vince Iwuchukwu can play. USC really needs his defense, rebounding, and length inside.
On offense, there’s no mystery about how USC operates. It starts with Boogie Ellis, who played like a superstar two weeks ago in a two-game homestand versus Arizona (35 points) and Arizona State (28 points) before having a much more ordinary game at the Pac-12 Tournament. He and either Drew Peterson or Reese Dixon-Waters need big offensive games to carry the load on a team with a thin bench. Freshman Tre White might also be able to chip in, but Boogie is the Alpha Male and Peterson is the passer who has great court vision and tries to find teammates when he isn’t shooting over the top of smaller defenders with his size as a big guard.
What will MSU have to do to win this one?
Obviously Michigan State needs a big game from Tyson Walker, and I know Malik Hall has been injured. Getting at least something from him would be really valuable for Izzo. Beyond that, I think the whole epicenter of this game on both sides is rebounding. Maybe one team will go crazy and make 60 percent of its shots, but that’s unlikely. It is probably going to come down to who gets the 50-50 balls and second-chance points, and who can make the other team “one and done” at the offensive end of the floor.
I also think — and I briefly alluded to this earlier — that USC has overachieved in getting here. The Trojans need to play as though they have nothing to lose. They need to have fun instead of feeling pressure. Michigan State probably views the NCAA Tournament as a fresh start and a chance to make another set of Tom Izzo March memories. Will the Spartans find a level of boldness and confidence which has been missing this season?
One final talking point: Both teams lost after playing just one game in their respective conference tournaments. That could be a blessing in disguise for both teams, who probably needed the rest and the chance to really decompress and reset for this tournament. Maybe we’ll see the supreme intensity both teams and head coaches are known for. Tom Izzo, as you know, is a defense-and-rebounding guy. Andy Enfield is a defense-and-effort guy. Maybe getting a full week off is exactly what both teams needed.
LET’S PLAY THE FEUD!
