EAST LANSING, Mich. — Label Davidson as a mid-major if you must, but the challenge it presents Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament is at a major conference level.
From the knowledge of Michigan State’s system former Spartan Foster Loyer has, to the experience of the Wildcats and the fact they shoot the lights out from long range, everything adds up to a tough scout heading into Friday’s 9:40 p.m. matchup in Greenville, S.C.
“When you don’t win your conference championship and get in,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said, “it kind of tells you how good you really are in some of the conferences.”
In other words, Davidson is good enough no matter what conference it comes from. And it’s not like the Atlantic 10 is full of bad teams. Richmond is also in this year’s tournament after knocking off Davidson last week and the conference has a history of success in March, including VCU’s Final Four appearance in 2011 that was the first of seven consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.
And let’s be clear, 10th-seeded Davidson did win a conference championship — the regular-season championship. It was in the A-10 tournament where the Wildcats faltered, but that’s not slowing their momentum heading into their matchup with the seventh-seeded Spartans.
Four players average in double figures and three of those players shoot better than 40% from 3-point range, hardly a surprise when the Wildcats (27-6) are eighth in the country in 3-point shooting at 38.5%.
“They bring some issues that we haven't dealt with,” Izzo said. “They're one of the top teams in the country shooting the 3-point shot, field-goal percentage. They move the ball very well, a little bit like Iowa, they run a lot of motion. So it’s not as easy to scout or easy to prepare for four players.
“The 'never relax' statement that I put on the board more than a few times during the year will be in full bloom this game because if you relax, you're going to get back cut, you're going to get curl cut. It's a very, very, very good, talented team that has got some experience and has got some seniors.”
Loyer, of course, is the name everyone will dial in on, and it’s fair. He clearly knows Michigan State’s system and he’s been playing well, earning second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors this season while leading Davidson in scoring at 16.4 points a game, shooting 44.5% from 3-point range.
But the Wildcats will hit you from all over.
Hyunjung Lee is a 6-foot-7 wing that was first-team All-A-10 while junior guard Michael Jones is averaging 11.9 points a game and sophomore forward Sam Mennenga is making 44% of his 3-point attempts.
It all compliments 6-10 senior center Luka Brajkovic, who was the A-10 Player of the Year that averaged 14.2 points and 7.2 rebounds a game with the ability to stretch it out to the 3-point line.
“We know they're a really good team that plays really well together,” Michigan State forward Joey Hauser said. “They have four guys scoring in double figures and obviously Foster has had a great year.
“So they're really a solid team. They've won some big games this year, they had a great conference season. … What we've seen (on film) is we have a really good matchup our hands.”
While Davidson mimics some of what Iowa does, the Wildcats don’t have a big man that’s like the ones the Spartans (22-12) face in the Big Ten.
“We have to make sure we have high hands,” forward Julius Marble said when it comes to guarding Brajkovic and the Wildcats’ big men. “It's a little bit different than the last couple of guys we played with. (Purdue’s Zach) Edey and (Trevion) Williams, we didn’t have to really get up as much at the 3-point line as we do with this guy.”
And just when the focus becomes all about defending the three, the Wildcats will cut backdoor and get easy buckets.
It’s enough that Michigan State’s big men — Marble and Marcus Bingham, as well as Hauser and Malik Hall — will have to be active on the defensive end.
“I’ve got to be able to talk on the back lines, make sure guys know where to be,” Marble said. “If a guy gets backdoored, I’ve got to make sure I'm there to help. Coach called me and Malik the policemen, I guess patrolling everything and making sure that anytime anybody comes through, I got to check it and make sure they don't get anything easy.”
If it does come easy for the Wildcats, it could be a long night for the Spartans and an early exit from the tournament.
