Sweet 16 schedule set for Thursday and Friday
The first four days of the NCAA Tournament certainly did not disappoint, but now we wait a few days for the Sweet 16 to begin. Eight games spread evenly across Thursday and Friday will take place in New York City (East), Las Vegas (West), Louisville (South) and Kansas City (Midwest), with the East and West Regions on Thursday and the South and Midwest Regions on Friday.
We’ll have a ton of time to break down these games from every possible angle, but here are some early thoughts and picks to consider for the Sweet 16.
Michigan State Spartans (-1, 137.5) vs. Kansas State Wildcats
I went against Sparty on Sunday and lost with Marquette, but I’ll give it another go this week against Kansas State. The handicap is pretty similar to me, but hopefully with a different outcome. Michigan State relies a ton on jump shots, as over 70% of their shot attempts are mid-range 2s or 3s. Their shot share on Close Twos is only 29.1% per Bart Torvik. The weakest part of Kansas State’s defense is rim protection, so we’ll see if Michigan State changes up the offensive philosophy.
Kansas State’s shot share on Close Twos is 43.4%, which represents an even bigger gap than what we had in the Marquette game. One big difference, though, is that Kansas State held opponents to just 29.7% on 3s and really closed out well on the perimeter. Also, Kansas State got to the free throw line a lot during the season and ranks 48th in FT Rate. Michigan State ranks 318th.