The Michigan State Spartans have had the Ole Miss Rebels circled on their calendar since they found out they’d be their Sweet 16 opponents. Bound to be a close contest, MSU will have to be prepared for any and everything that the Rebels throw its way.
One of the hardest things the Spartans will look to predict is what kind of game they are going to see from two Ole Miss players, senior guard Dre Davis and junior forward Malik Dia. While Sean Pedulla has been consistent for the Rebels through the two tournament games so far, both Davis and Dia could shake the landscape of the game.
Through the first two games of the NCAA Tournament, Davis and Dia have interchanged their playing styles, seeing success one night and hard times the other. In Game 1 against the North Carolina Tar Heels, Davis finished with 15 points in 28 minutes of action, whereas Dia collected 8 in 18 minutes.
In the regular season, Davis was averaging 10.3 points per game, with 4.8 rebounds and a 45.9 field-goal percentage in 26.1 minutes of playing time on average. Ending his regular season strong, Ole Miss was looking for Davis to continue that success over from Game 1 to Game 2, but that did not happen.
During the second-round game against the Iowa State Cyclones, Davis was only able to drop four points in 29 minutes of action. He also finished with five rebounds and five personal fouls. For Dia, however, he turned his round one success around in game two, dropping 18 points, 10 points more than Round 1.
The Spartans have to be ready for those two what-if candidates in the matchup while keeping all heads on a swivel looking to limit Pedulla. If MSU can figure out the type of game both Dia and Davis are averaging early, perhaps the goal of moving onto the Elite Eight portion of the tournament is more attainable.
Coach Tom Izzo knows what Ole Miss possesses as a program, but he also knows that his team wouldn’t be in this position if they weren’t prepared and ready for it. The defense will need to keep the game within arm’s reach, especially with the amount of scoring the Rebels do.
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