6'11" athletic freshman center is transferring from Oklahoma State bc his coach got fired.

Our biggest need at the moment is a STRONG center who can defend strong/fat opposing centers. Bacot is the only guy who can do that on our current roster and he's leaving at the end of the season. I'm not sure this kid fills that role unless Jonas can get him to bulk up, but he's definitely the best center prospect in the portal so far.

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We've got a loaded staff here today. Jacob, Bryant, Trey and I are on press row, and Kevin is shooting.

Right here:

Hoggard, Atkinson and Walker who one is a junior, one is a senior and the other Walker is a graduate student average about 40 points a game with Walker leading with 18 ppg.,

The big problem is that two of that trio are 6’4 and the other is 6’1., Anyone who watched the Mississippi State game watched those three guards go off shooting threes and driving to the hole with no problems.

If Carolina has one problem that has bothered them all season is that their guards are small and teams have constantly attacked them with success.

I would not be surprised at all if Trimble gets a ton of time because of his height and defense and I would not be surprised to see Ryan playing at two allowing Withers to play up front with Ingram playing the three.

Michigan State like most Big ten teams are very physical and Withers should be able to help Bacot rebound both offensively and defensively.

I would prefer NOT to have Cadeau out of the lineup because of his passing skills but sometimes match ups make more sense especially in this case.

Michigan State Spartans​

20-14

CBS
3/23
5:30 PM

1

North Carolina Tar Heels​

28-7



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NCAA College Basketball Odds, Betting Lines & Point Spreads

NORTH-CAROLINA Odds: Schedule, Matchups, & Stats - VegasInsider​

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Gone, gone, gone! The G League Ignite team was 2-18 his past season. OUCH! NIL strikes again folks.

" Between the struggles of the Ignite and the dawning of college basketball’s NIL era, it’s easy to wonder if the NBA has the appetite anymore to pay top prospects to develop in the G League. The Ignite does not have a public commitment from a top prospect in the 2024 class, though five-star Karter Knox has said he’s considering the G League route. Of the current players with the Ignite, only promising 17-year-old Dink Pate has said he intends to return'.
The comments that Silver made during All-Star weekend will only fuel speculation about whether the Ignite continues beyond this season and, if so, in what form.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nbas-g...longer-exist-after-this-season-201858783.html

https://pr.nba.com/nba-g-league-ignite-final-season/

https://pr.nba.com/nba-g-league-ignite-final-season/

...and we took care of business.

Look, this was your basic 1/16 game where ya just don't wanna end up on the wrong end of a trivia question, so yeah... TCB. Not too much to talk about, but quickly:

- took us a while to get our continuity in place, which happens after conference tourneys. We looked like a combination of too hyped-up (EC) and searching for our "legs" to get into the flow (Seth) but we never let them seriously challenge, and more than answered all their efforts at runs.

- the obvious remedy was getting the rock INSIDE and we did that early and got a smaller team in foul trouble --- even went Big at one point with Ingram at the 3. --- but, geez, we need to finish better Saturday! Mando had big numbers but it ain't gonna be that easy vs MSU.

- Fortunately, Withers put on an energy show in his homecoming --- cleaning up misses, defending, running the floor. Man, I hope he comes back next season.

- Some of the sloppiness with the rock we need to credit to Wagner's staff doing a good job of scouting our transition tendencies, and doing a really good job of getting into defensive transition lanes. That finally disappoeared once they were gassed in the second half.

- speaking of that, sticking with it was key. We didn't press, but starting off in 24 immediately set a tone and we were actively forcing tempo, then pushing the rock. As as a result we had HALF of our points in transition, mostly the Secondary.

- due to the above, and then with them going Zone, we seldom resorted to set plays, and with their overplaying of entries, RJ went to town, and the skip passes were always open.

- finally, Pax's minutes were very productive and Cormac was in constant motion, which paid off. Also good to see some Blue Steel minutes and congrats to Rob Landry for getting some points in a NCAAT box score!

Anyway... that one is outta the way, but now it gets real. The only down side of being a 1-seed is that your 2nd round opponent is gonna be a legit threat coming outta the 8/9 and we all know that Izzo's teams always peak in March. We are better --- but that works ONLY if we come to play like it's dook across the way! Our Guards better be locked in on both ends, our frontcourt guys better be ready to finish thru CONTACT, and fight for every rebound...

Michigan State and North Carolina are ranked 6th & 7th respectively in KenPom’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency ratings. Tar Heels are at their best in these type of games. They stay more buttoned up. I'm actually more concerned about a potential Sweet 16 game with Alabama as far as playing style is concerned. The Heels can tend to lose their possession by possession defensive intensity in those type of games. But back to this one. UNC is undefeated when giving up 70 points or less, and I think they keep it om the right side of that total. North Carolina 72 Michigan State 70 in a back alley battle.

of copying things done by lighter 'cool' Ag schools. So expect then to copy today's TAMU jerseys that read 'Fightin' Texas Aggies.' For Moo, it will become 'Fightin' Carolina Wuffies'