Jerome Tang shares what stands out about Michigan State in Sweet 16 matchup

Kansas State advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament by beating Montana State and Kentucky, setting up a meeting with seven-seed Michigan State in the Sweet 16.

It’s not a matchup that Kansas State coach Jerome Tang will take lightly, not after sparring with the Spartans twice before.

“Well, it’s not the first time I’ve gone against a Michigan State team,” Tang said. “And one of the things that’s super impressive is how quickly they get the ball out of the net and up the floor after the other team scores. So like transition — we call it the book ends. The moment they touch the ball, then the end of it and how great they rebound.”

That lightning fast pace, at times, can be overwhelming.

But Tang has been on the right end of two previous meetings with Michigan State. He was an assistant at Baylor in 2016 and 2021 when the two programs met. Tang’s Baylor squads won both times.

So you can expect his Kansas State team to be well-prepared for everything Tom Izzo‘s guys will throw at them.

“So those two things we have to be prepared for, stopping them in transition, getting back, building a wall, making a play in the halfcourt,” Tang said. “And then at the end when they take a shot, being able to corral the ball, limit their second-chance opportunities.”

Kansas State vs. Michigan State – Sweet 16

The Sweet 16 matchup with Michigan State promises to be a good one. Early lines from VegasInsider.com have the Spartans favored by a point and a half.

Michigan State’s path to the Sweet 16 has also already proven some mettle.

The Spartans managed to down a power conference USC team convincingly in opening-round action before downing Marquette just as dominantly in the Round of 32.

Tang is telling his players what they can expect. Namely, expect to face a group that won’t back down no matter what. There will be no signaling victory until the final whistle sounds playing against Izzo’s bunch.

“They just play with coach Izzo’s toughness, that gritty toughness, fights you for every inch on the court, on every dribble and every pass,” Tang said. “They’ve got really good players that do those things. So that makes it really hard.”

Kansas State and Michigan State are set to square off on Thursday in a game that tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET on TBS.