2016 NCAA Tournament Preview: No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Middle Tennessee

TV Schedule: Friday, Mar. 18, 2:45 p.m. ET, CBS

Arena: Scottrade Center-St. Louis, Mo.

Line: Michigan State (-18)

Winning the Big Ten tournament was somehow not enough for Michigan State to get a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance, but they do enter Friday afternoon’s game against No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee with a nine-game winning streak. The Spartans are a popular national title pick, and senior guard Denzel Valentine guaranteed a national title run before the conference tournament.

The Blue Raiders earned an automatic bid by winning the Conference USA tournament, and they have a six-game winning streak of their own going right now.

What To Watch For: Michigan State

Valentine is the straw that stirs the drink for Michigan State, and he has actually stepped up his game at the most important time of the year. During the team’s current winning streak, Valentine is averaging 20.3 points, 9.4 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Two other seniors are important players for the Spartans, with guard Bryn Forbes the team’s second-leading scorer (14.4 points per game), and forward Matt Costello leading the team in rebounds (8.2 per game) and blocked shots (1.2 per game). Forbes is a proficient three-point shooter (48.4 percent this season), but since a 33-point outburst against Rutgers on Mar. 2 he is just 5-for-23 from beyond the arc over the last four games.

What To Watch For: Middle Tennessee

Sophomore guard Giddy Potts is the Blue Raiders’ leading scorer (15.0 points per game), and three other players average double-figures. Forward Reggie Upshaw is the team’s second-leading scorer (13.8 points per game), leading rebounder (8.7 per game) and leading assist man (2.2 per game), and he averaged 16.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game over a nine-game stretch late in the season.

Senior guard Jaqawn Raymond has stepped up as an important player for Middle Tennessee recently, with at least 27 minutes of action in six straight games. The highlight of that stretch was a season-high 20 points against Marshall in a conference tournament semifinal, and the Blue Raiders’ upset chances may center on a similar effort from Raymond Friday afternoon.

The Spartans and Tom Izzo are always tough to beat in March, and they are playing as well as any team in the country right now. The Blue Raiders may be a worthy opponent, but they don’t have enough to pull off the upset.

Prediction: Michigan State 78, Middle Tennessee 65