In case you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Miami and Michigan State are playing in the NCAA tournament tonight.

As with any game, the matchup between the teams on the court matter. So, here’s a look at some of the statistics that could come into play tonight.

So, Michigan State scores slightly more than Miami, but Miami plays better defense than Michigan State.

Both teams get to the line a decent amount (18.8 FT/gm for Miami and 18.6 FT/gm for MSU), but Miami shoots it much better from the stripe.

Michigan State is better at assists by a wide margin (11.7 ast/gm for Miami to 17 ast/gm for MSU)

Michigan State also turns it over more than Miami, which could be a product of them playing a faster tempo (12.7 TO/gm for Miami to 14.2 TO/gm for MSU)

Miami does a better job on the offensive glass (11.1 OReb/gm for Miami to 9.5 OReb/gm for MSU)

Michigan State fouls much more than Miami does (15.6 fouls/gm for Miami to 20.3 fouls/gm for MSU). 5 additional fouls is a player DQ’d from the game. Also, 20 fouls would mean Miami shooting the double bonus in both halves, if MSU fouled equally in 1H and 2H. Both those things matter, especially since Miami shoots FTs better than MSU (which is crazy to read, I know, but true nonetheless).

Leading Scorer

Miami: Davon Reed (15.0) / Michigan State: Miles Bridges (16.7)

Leading Rebounder

Miami: Kamari Murphy (7.5) / Michigan State: Miles Bridges (8.3)

Most Assists

Miami: Ja’Quan Newton (3.4) / Michigan State: Cassius Winston (5.1)

By those 3 stats, you can see that Michigan State relies heavily on their freshmen, something I wrote about earlier this week:

While Miami relies on their upperclassmen, and hope to do so to get a win in the game tonight

KenPom rankings

Overall - Miami: 32nd / Michigan State: 42nd

Adjusted Offense (points per 100 possessions) - Miami 110.0 (72nd) / Michigan State 110.5 (68th)

Adjusted Defense (points allowed per 100 poss) - Miami 93.6 (19th) / Michigan State 95.7 (33rd)

Adjusted Tempo (possessions per 40 minutes) - Miami 62.9 (338th) / Michigan State 66.6 (242nd)

Other Stats to know

Miami vs Michigan State all-time: Miami 1-0

Are there other numbers you think will come into play tonight? Any others you’re wondering about and want to know (I’m usually good and quick with research)? Hop in the comments and let me know.

Go Canes!