5 reasons why Michigan State is this year’s UConn

Isolation players are key down the stretch

I can’t stress how important having players who can score in one on one situations is in the NCAA tournament. There is teams like Georgia State, who have run a primarily ball-screen and slash to the basket offense all season only to completely forget about it in the closing seconds and call our R.J. Hunter’s number to take the entire Baylor defense one on one. While it did work out then, Hunter just didn’t have enough magic in him to make it happen against a hot shooting Xavier team.

But the Huskies had consistent isolation success last year and the Spartans have had it so far in the tournament this season. Shabazz Napier could basically get in the lane at will. And when his jump shot was falling he was virtually unstoppable.

Similarly, the Spartan backcourt in Travis Trice, Denzel Valentine and Branden Dawson all can take just about anyone in the NCAA one-on-one. The three have accounted for 58 percent of the Spartans scoring this year. And they have done so because Coach Izzo trusts them all in isolation situations.

No matter what anyone says, close games in March always come down to effective isolation execution. Michigan State has shown, that if they are close, their best scorers can come through consistently. This is what separates the Spartans from teams like Georgia State. And is one of the main reasons why they will be successful in the Final Four.

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