Sarah Smith
Tom Izzo during Michigan State's Sweet Sixteen press conference on March 22, 2023. Photo Credit: Sarah Smith/WDBM
INDIANAPOLIS— No. 7 Michigan State men’s basketball will open its post-season campaign against No. 23 Oregon on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals.
MSU concluded its regular season play with a 79-62 victory over its rival No. 22 Michigan on Sunday. Following the rivalry triumph, the Spartans raised their Big Ten Champions banner after clinching the regular season title, outright, against Iowa on March 6.
Three MSU players finished in double-digits on Sunday including junior guard Tre Holloman with a career-high 20 points, freshman guard Jase Richardson with 18 points and senior guard Jaden Akins with 11 points.
The Spartans shot 44.6% from the field, 37.5% from behind the arc and 83.3% from the free throw line against the Wolverines. They also put up 39 rebounds, 15 turnovers, eight steals and five blocks.
The Big Ten Conference announced its postseason men’s basketball honors on Tuesday. Akins was named to the coaches All-Big Ten Conference Third Team and the All-Big Ten Defensive Team. Richardson was selected by the league’s coaches and media for the All-Big Ten Conference Third Team and was elected to the All-Freshman Team too.
Head coach Tom Izzo was announced as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, marking his fourth time receiving the award. Izzo has previously earned the honor in 1998, 2009 and 2012.
Associate Head Coach Doug Wojcik and junior guard Nick Sanders also received Big Ten honors. Wojcik was the recipient of the Big Ten’s Howard Moore Assistant Coach of the Year and Sanders was the team’s Big Ten Sportsmanship awardee.
MSU previously met with Oregon on Feb. 8 in East Lansing. The Spartans topped the Ducks 86-74 with four players in double-digits.
Scouting Oregon
Oregon matched up with Indiana on Thursday afternoon to open up the second day of the Big Ten Tournament. The Ducks walked away with a 72-59 success over the Hoosiers.
Sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad led Oregon with 18 points. He was followed by senior guard TJ Bamba with 17 points and senior forward Brandon Angel put up 14 points.
The Ducks are shooting 45.6% from the field, 34.3% from behind the arc and 76.4% from the free throw line this season. They are also averaging 35.8 rebounds per game, 14.7 assists per game, 11.2 turnovers per game and 3.8 blocks per game.
Four Oregon players received postseason B1G honors. Senior center Nate Bittle and Shelstad were named to the All-Big Ten third team. Bittle and Bamba were both selected to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team as well. Additionally, senior forward James Cooper was chosen for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Team.
MSU and Oregon will go head-to-head on Friday with tip-off set for 12 p.m. Tune into the live radio broadcast featuring Matt Merrifield and Allie Cohen locally on 88.9 FM or at impact89fm.org/listen-live/.