MINNEAPOLIS — They are familiar with the challenging task at hand. especially considering that Michigan State basketball's big guys haven't even faced Zach Edey for two weeks.
The Purdue star has since won yet another Big Ten player of the year honor. The Spartans' rotating door on the low block is still in motion in the interim.
But in Friday's rematch against the top-seeded Boilermakers, the strategy for Xavier Booker, Carson Cooper, Jaxon Kohler, and Mady Sissoko is still the same: try to slow down Edey.
On Thursday afternoon, the Spartans (19-13) defeated Minnesota, the tenacious No. 9 seed, 77-67, to set up a quarterfinal matchup with No. 3 Purdue (28-3).
SHAWN WINDSOR: It looks like Michigan State has finally realized its promise. Can they hold out against Purdue?
Enter USA TODAY's basketball tournament bracket contests for a chance to win a $1 million prize. IT'S BRACKET MADNESS.
Their prize? confronting the 300-pound, 7-foot-4 Edey for the second time in a fortnight. The Boilermakers secured a second consecutive Big Ten regular-season championship on March 2 by winning the first one, 80-74, at West Lafayette, Indiana. They have taken eight of the previous nine encounters and the last four in the series versus the Spartans.
Kohler, who equaled his season-high of six rebounds and scored seven points in 20 minutes against the Gophers, stated, "Losing that game was really hard." However, we also sensed that it's not insurmountable. Additionally, I think that many of the men on our team are fired up and eager to attempt playing them again. Everyone will be prepared for it.
The current national player of the year has scored 102 points on 37-for-65 shooting and pulled down 41 rebounds in his last three games against MSU. In those games, Edey is also 28 for 39 from the free-throw line.
Edey finished 14 of 20 from the free throw line and finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds in the most recent game. But the Spartans kept the game tight in the second half, harassing him with double teams from their guards.
Booker, who scored 11 points in the first game with Purdue and had six points and three rebounds against Minnesota, said, "I think the main thing for him is trying to not let him get so deep in the paint, because that's where he's most effective." "I think we'll be okay if we just kind of keep him up towards the free-throw line."
At Purdue, MSU had an eight-point lead at one point in the first half and a 15-point deficit early in the second half. With nine minutes remaining, the Spartans pulled within three points, but they were unable to get any closer.
Additionally, MSU found it difficult to stop sophomore guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer of the Boilermakers, who together made 8 of 10 3-pointers. Loyer scored 15 points, while Smith finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Besides Edey, Smith, and Loyer, the remaining Purdue players scored ten points apiece.
Izzo feels that Smith, a point guard, "has made a big, big difference' for the Boilermakers this season," having joined Edey on the All-Big Ten first team earlier this week.
"They're decent," Izzo remarked. They are, in my opinion, among the greatest teams in the nation and the best team in the league. They have adaptability and are well-coached, so they can beat you in a variety of ways. I mean, are they really the same team if Edey is out? No. Can they win, though, if he doesn't play well? Because they appear to have enough other weaponry, I believe they can.
Izzo has started three different centers in the last four games after the match against Purdue.
Sissoko struggled with foul problems and only played six scoreless minutes in the Purdue game against Edey. Four days later, the 6-9, 250-pound senior quarterback led MSU to victory against Northwestern, although he only contributed 9 minutes to that game—the last of his 26 starts this season. Sissoko played just one scoreless minute in the first half of Thursday's game against the Gophers after coming off the bench for nine minutes and two points against Indiana.
On Sunday, the regular season came to an end with a 65-64 loss against the Hoosiers, in which Booker struggled defensively from the start. Kohler then started the second half of the game. Izzo gave Cooper his sixth start of the year against Minnesota, but it was his first since Dec. 5 at Wisconsin.
Each of the three young players got a few seconds with the Gophers.
Booker scored six points in the first half of the game, including two dunks after entering the game early. On Thursday, Booker supported senior Malik Hall. The 6-11 rookie also tallied two thefts, one during his ten minutes in the first half and another during his five minutes in the second half without a point.
Booker claimed that "we all prepared for the game pretty well." "I believe we all carried out our plan of attack against the Gophers, as it was evident." I believe we had a strong start to the game.
Cooper had a tough presence on defense despite having a poor offensive performance (three points and five rebounds). The 6-11 sophomore failed to make three of his four attempts at the free-throw line and failed to convert a hook jumper on a set play that was intended for him at the conclusion of the first half, after getting to the line twice early. Before halftime, Cooper pulled down four boards, and his lone basket came early in the second half.
That's because Kohler, who played 12 minutes and shone at both ends of the court, owned a large portion of the second half. Following foot surgery in October that kept him out of the first 14 games of the season, the 6-9 sophomore on Friday displayed skillful movement around the hoop on two up-and-under layups, one in each half. With 1:50 remaining, Kohler crashed the boards to tip in a missed basket by Tyson Walker as Minnesota attempted a late rally.
MSU's attack has been lacking those two things all season: interior clean-up plays off guard misses and half-court post-ups on the block. The fact that Kohler stated he "kind of just took a breath" after pressing the reset button was helpful.
"Everything that occurred throughout the regular season did so. Go on; it was the past. Looking back on it with sorrow is pointless, said Kohler, who came into the game averaging 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds on a meager 39.4% shooting percentage. "Adding it to the fire for inspiration is the only thing you can do if you're going to look back on it. That's precisely what I did.
This quest for atonement will also serve as motivation for Friday's rematch with Purdue, another chance for MSU to demonstrate to the NCAA tournament selection committee that they are far more like the team that fans thought they were in the preseason than the one that has struggled in close games all winter.
Cooper replied, "I think we're all just about ready." "I believe we believe we owe them." We provided them an excellent run at their location, creating a competitive game and a demanding environment. We haven't played them in a while, so it's still really new.
Chris Solari can be reached at csolari@freepress.com. Use his handle, @chrissolari.
Get weekly new episodes of "Spartan Speak" by subscribing to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other podcast-listening platform. Visit freep.com/podcasts to listen to all of our podcasts and get the daily voice briefing.