Michigan State-Kansas: 2009 Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks ATS, March 27

No. 2 Michigan State Spartans (28-6, 15-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (27-7, 14-2 Big 12)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16—Midwest Region
Friday, March 27—9:37 PM ET on CBS

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Preview

The Big Ten regular season champs take on the Big 12 regular season champs on Friday in a game of recent NCAA Tournament winners. These two programs have both won the tournament in the past 10 years (the Jayhawks are the defending champs while the Spartans won in 2000), and both have been very impressive this season.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Jayhawks, but they have been anything but mediocre this season. They won the Big 12 regular season title by going 14-2 in conference play, impressive considering they took out a few dancing teams along the way—Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State, and Texas.

They have found their success by riding on the shoulders of their two natural leaders—junior Sherron Collins in the backcourt and sophomore Cole Aldrich in the frontcourt. Both Collins and Aldrich were named to the All-Big 12 First Team this season, and Aldrich also picked up the co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award.

But a team consists of more than two players, and the newcomers have also received their own recognition. Marcus Morris in the frontcourt and Tyshawn Taylor in the backcourt were named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team, and Kansas coach Bill Self was honored as the Big 12 Coach of the Year.

The Spartans have been in the top ten for most of the season, and won the Big Ten regular season title by a comfortable four game margin. They have gone 5-2 against the Top 25, and an impressive 13-3 against the RPI Top 50.

This success has allowed their individual players to receive the recognition they deserve as well. Kalin Lucas received the Big Ten Player of the Year award, Travis Walton was named as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and Tom Izzo was named by the coaches as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

But other players were also named to the All-Big Ten teams. Lucas was named to the First Team, Goran Suton to the Second, and Raymar Morgan and Travis Walton received honorable mention. Delvon Roe was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

With five players receiving awards of some sort in addition to Izzo receiving Coach of the Year, it's no wonder the Spartans have looked unstoppable for much of the season.

Despite the talent on the Jayhawks squad, when these two teams faced off in January (this is the only rematch within the Sweet 16) Michigan State easily won 75-62. The Spartans lead for most of the game and had a 19-point lead at the break. Kansas made a late-game surge, but it proved to not be enough as MSU went 9-for-10 from the line in the final two minutes.

Michigan State is looking to move to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005, while the Jayhawks are trying to repeat their success from last season. Will the youth of the Jayhawks finally catch up with them, or will they be able to avenge their January loss?

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
No. 3 Kansas	27-7	14-2	19-10	11	20	77.3	66.1
No. 2 Michigan State	28-6	15-3	17-12-1	6	6	72.1	62.9

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
No. 3 Kansas	47.9	38.9	37.9	33.8	73.0	41.8	6.9	16.2	14.3	4.2
No. 2 Michigan State	45.5	41.4	35.1	31.9	68.8	42.5	6.4	15.9	13.9	2.9

Stats Leaders

	No. 3 Kansas	No. 2 Michigan State
PPG	S. Collins - 18.7	K. Lucas - 14.7
	C. Aldrich - 14.8	R. Morgan - 11.0
	T. Taylor - 10.0	G. Suton - 9.9
RPG	C. Aldrich - 10.7	G. Suton - 8.2
APG	S. Collins - 5.1	K. Lucas - 4.4
SPG	S. Collins - 1.2	T. Walkton - 1.5
BPG	C. Aldrich - 2.4	D. Roe - 0.8

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Prediction

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