Davidson vs Michigan State live observations from NCAA tournament first-round game
.JPG "Michigan State guard Jaden Akins drives to the basket past Davidson guard Michael Jones during the second half of a college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday, March 18, 2022, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)")
Davidson is having one of the best seasons in its basketball program’s history and the Wildcats are getting another chance to showcase that in front of a national audience tonight in the NCAA tournament.
Tenth-seeded Davidson (27-6), led by Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Luka Brajkovic and coach Bob McKillop, will play No. 7 seed Michigan State (22-12) in the 9:40 nightcap on CBS. Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill are on the call.
It’s the second time this week Davidson gets a national TV audience on CBS. On Sunday, the Wildcats lost to Richmond in the A-10 championship game on CBS — a broadcast that preceded the Big 10 championship.
The Charlotte Observer has a team of journalists at the game, including columnist Scott Fowler, and will be posting live observations throughout. The most recent observation will be the highest on the page.
Davidson vs Michigan State score
Davidson vs Michigan State observations
Danger zone for Davidson
Up 3 around the 5-minute mark, Luka Brajkovic went to the free-throw line to extend Davidson’s lead but missed both free throws. Michigan State responded with a quick 3 on the other end and then went on an 8-0 run.
There’s 3:01 to play and Michigan State has taken all the momentum back. Davidson has to find a way to get a couple of stops on the defensive end and convert them to points. The Wildcats have already had two shot-clock violations as Sparty’s D is becoming suffocating.
It’s MSU 64, Davidson 59.
Luka Brajkovic heating up
Brajkovic, the Davidson star and Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, was limited to 2 points and 4 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, but he has found his rhythm early in the second half with seven quick points before the first media timeout.
He still hasn’t secured a rebound.
Davidson and Michigan State are tied at 45-45.
Michigan State leads Davidson at halftime
Davidson has to be feeling fortunate to only be down 32-31 at the half. The Wildcats have kept this game tight while playing without A-10 Player of the Year Luka Brajkovic for all but 4 minutes due to foul trouble.
Michigan State has played strong defense against Davidson’s two best scorers, Hyunjung Lee and Foster Loyer. Davidson keeps trying to get Lee and Loyer open off screens atop the arc but the Spartans stop it with double teams.
Sophomores Sam Mennenga and Grant Huffman have keyed Davidson’s success so far. Huffman has been getting his hands up on defense and making plays happen while slashing to the basket on the other end of the floor (4 points). Mennenga leads Davidson with 10 points and 4 rebounds.
Davidson star in early foul trouble
The Atlantic 10’s Player of the Year Luka Brajkovic has picked up two fouls in four minutes. The 6-foot-10 senior might not play the rest of the half. But Davidson is hanging tough nonetheless: 15-14, Michigan State leads with 11:17 left in the first half.
A pro-Davidson crowd
It’s safe to say the majority of this packed house here in Greenville is pulling for Davidson. (It helps having another North Carolina team, Duke, with fans represented in the crowd.)
It’s a close game early with MSU up 8-5 at the under-16 media timeout but Davidson is struggling from the field, connecting on 2 of 7 shots.
Starting 5 for Davidson and Michigan State
▪ Davidson: Foster Loyer, Hyunjung Lee, Sam Mennenga, Michael Jones and Luke Brajkovic.
▪ MSU: Max Christie, A.J. Hoggard, Joey Hauser, Julius Marble II and Gabe Brown.
Winner will play Duke
The winner of tonight’s Davidson-Michigan State game will take on Duke in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The Blue Devils beat Cal State Fullerton 78-61.
Foster Loyer doesn’t want to be the story
You’ll hear this story line plenty tonight on the TV broadcast: Davidson starting point guard Foster Loyer is a transfer from Michigan State.
The guys he’ll be playing against tonight are his former roommates and “best friends,” he said. But he’d rather not make this about him.
“This isn’t Foster vs. Michigan State,” Loyer said Thursday before Davidson’s first NCAA tournament game since 2018. “This isn’t Foster vs. Coach Izzo or anything like that. This is Davidson versus Michigan State.”
For more on Loyer and the Wildcats, Scott Fowler wrote about them earlier today.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 9:04 PM.
