#AE Basketball News & Notes: Madness has Bulldogs vs Sparty

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After securing their first America East Tournament Championship, the Bryant Bulldogs found out the who and where on Selection Sunday. The who is #2 seed Michigan State Spartans and the where will be in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday night at 10 PM. This will be a first-round matchup in the East Region.

For Bryant, this will be their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Their first trip took place as a member of the Northeast Conference in 2022. For the Spartans, this will be the 27th straight trip to the tournament. They are the regular season champions of the B1G this year.

The Bulldogs head to the field winners of 17 of their last 19 games. At 23-11, they have set a D1 single-season record for wins with their victory on Saturday in the title game. They rank 17th in the country in scoring offense averaging 82.4 points per game, fourth in rebounds per game with 41.47, third in blocked shots with six per game, and 18th in offensive rebounding with 13.41 per contest. AE Player of the Year, Earl Timberlake is the only player in the nation averaging 15+ points, 8+ boards, 4.5+ assists, and 1.5+ blocks. In the America East Tournament, he averaged 18.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.7 blocks, and two steals in three games.

Timberlake is getting help from two other members of the starting five. Rafael Pinzon had 12 20-point games and three 30-point games while averaging 18.5 a night. Barry Evans, the Newcomer of the Year in the league, averaged 13.5 points, 6.9 boards, and 2.7 assists. In the three tournament games, Evans’ numbers went up to 16.7 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

Michigan State (27-6) will be making their 38th all-time selection to the tournament. They have an overall record of 73-36 a .670 winning percentage. MSU has been a part of 10 Final Four’s, and have won two National Championships. Their winning percentage of .670 is ninth-best all-time in tournament play. The 73 wins are sixth all-time and 10 Final Four’s are tied for sixth best.

State averaged 78.2 points on offense while giving up 67.2 a game. They are a 46.1% shooting team and a 30.9 % three-point shooting team. They make six a game and 197 for the season, grabbing 39.6 rebounds a night with a rebounding margin of +9. They turned the ball over 11.5 times a game. A turnover margin of -0.1.

Michigan State boasted two players that averaged double-figures a night. Jaden Akins at 12.7 a game and Jase Richardson at 12 a contest. These two players averaged over twenty minutes a contest. MSU has ten players that averaged double figures in minutes played.

The madness gets started on Tuesday night with First Four games in Dayton, Ohio.