The Auburn Tigers are one win away from reaching their first Final Four since 2019. They will play the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. CT on CBS. The road so far has not been easy for the top seeded Tigers, but they have used great second halves to advance in the NCAA Tournament. For the second-seeded Michigan State Spartans they have defeated Bryant, New Mexico, and Ole Miss to reach the Elite Eight. They needed comebacks against the Lobos and Rebels to reach this point.
According to the ESPN Matchup Predictor, the Tigers have a 68.8% chance of winning the Elite Eight matchup and advance to the Final Four. The Spartans are predicted to have a 31.2% chance of winning.
Johni Broome gave the Tigers a better performance offensively against Michigan than he had the first two rounds. In the 78-65 win over the Wolverines, Broome scored 22 points and was big on the boards with 16 rebounds. The Auburn guards have been the constant in the tournament with Tahaad Pettiford and Denver Jones both scoring 20 points each against the Wolverines.
Michigan State won the Big Ten regular season and were led by their defense. They rank second in the conference allowing just 67.1 points per game. They are good around the basket as well. The Spartans were second in rebounding (39.8 per game) and blocks (4.6 per game). Offensively, they have several players who contribute. The top two scorers are Jaden Atkins (12.8 points per game) and Jase Richardson (12.2 points per game).
Auburn should expect a game similar to what was played in their two matchups against Tennessee this season. Michigan State will not want a high scoring game and could try to slow down the pace. Good thing for Auburn they have proved they can play any style of game. Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly had subpar performances against Michigan. Expect one or both to have big games on Sunday. Kelly has been quiet offensively since scoring 23 in the first round versus Alabama State.
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn's Elite Eight matchup with Michigan State prediction from ESPN
